


Reimagine

by Shinigaminoko



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: And only mentioned, BAMF! Barry Allen, Barry lives in Starling, Everyone is Bisexual, Gen, Jealous! Eobard, Metahuman! Caitlin, Metahuman! Cisco, Not adopted by Joe West, Past Abuse, Possessive! Eobard, Works at SCPD, and QC, and obsessed, and sexual assault, he is a stalker, of a minor, with Barry Allen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25633756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinigaminoko/pseuds/Shinigaminoko
Summary: Barry Allen thought life was already hard... but now he has superpower's, after the S.T.A.R. Labs particle accelerator explodes. He has to make a decision to either return home to Starling and continue his life... or stay in Central City and fight crime against other superpowered people... as The Flash!This is The Flash Reimagined.Hinted/Implied various pairings. Slash, Fem-Slash, Het...Not Iris West Friendly- if she even shows up in the story.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Oliver Queen, Cisco Ramon/Hartley Rathaway, Laurel Lance/Eddie Thawne, Ronnie Raymond/Caitlin Snow
Comments: 86
Kudos: 118





	1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own The Flash or Arrow. If I did, they'll be less Iris and more SnowBarrIsco Friendship with more Frost and Barry interaction. And a lot more crossovers._

 _ **Pairings:**_ _Might become Oliver and Barry, but it could be read as a platonic friendship where they are just really close friends._

 **_Warnings:_ ** _Not Canon Compliance, No Iris West, Barry doesn't know who she is, so if she does stupid things in the story, Barry isn't going to rush off to save her. All characters are Bisexual, so anything can happen. Mentions of past abuse for Barry. Stronger Barry- Oliver taught him how to defend himself. Barry knowing how to fight, Arrow style._

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

Oliver did not look pleased.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Barry tossed an unamused look at his green leather clad friend, while both Diggle and Felicity watched from the other side of the room. They were not about to get in the middle of the latest argument between Starling City's vigilante and SCPD's lead CSI. They still remembered the last time they did; it didn't end so well.

"I'm not trying to tell you how to do you vigilante-ing, all I'm asking is for you to be more careful." Barry dropped his arms and stared at his best friend. "I worry about you enough while you go out skulking the City at night, but when Felicity called and said you were hurt... that I needed to get here fast... " Barry trailed off and turned away from Oliver, wiping at his eyes, not wanting his friend to see just how upset he was. "Damn you Ollie!"

Sharing a look, Felicity and Diggle excused themselves knowing things were about to get personal for the two friends. And Barry didn't need them witnessing him breaking down because Oliver was incapable of not getting himself hurt.

Reaching over, Oliver grasp the younger males shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Barr. You're right. I should be more careful and I'm so sorry for always worrying you." Hearing a soft sniffling sound, Oliver grimaced. He always hated when Barry cried, especially if the reason was him. It always felt like he was getting struck by multiple arrows through the heart. Spinning the brunet around, he yanked Barry to his chest, hugging him, "Shh. I'm sorry Barr. Please don't cry."

"We already lost Tommy, Ollie. We can't lose you too." Barry murmured. "I can't lose you."

Oliver felt his heart breaking, closing his eyes, he held the younger tighter, "You won't ever lose me, Barr. I'll always be here for you no matter what."

Wrapping his own arms around Oliver's waist, Barry leaned his forehead against the blonds chest. "By the time I got here, you were already starting to seize. I had to have Diggle give you chest compression while trying to find out what was wrong with you." Barry pulled away and glared at Oliver, "You should know, Ollie, I work on dead people not those dying. I almost lost you. I guess it's a good thing the foundry has a rat problem."

"I can't believe you actually gave me rat poison."

"Hey, it saved your life, just be thankful that you had that on hand or... " Oliver drew the boy back into a comforting hug, whispering soothing words into his ear. "Thea and I still need you Ollie. So does Dinah even if she won't admit it." With a nod of his head, Oliver nuzzled his nose against the brunets hair, rubbing his back to calm him down. After a while Barry pulled away and wiped at his face. "Before I had to come and save your life, the Chief and Detective Lance were telling me that CCPD had sent a request for a CSI to help them catalogue some backlogged cases. Apparently they lack competent CSI's and they need the extra help."

Oliver rose an eyebrow, "Are you going by yourself?"

"Yeah. It's fine though. And it works out perfectly since the Particle Accelerator suppose to go online tomorrow night, so if I leave tonight, I'll arrive at Central with plenty of time to help out at CCPD before heading towards S.T.A.R. Labs to see the Particle Accelerator turn on." Oliver couldn't help but smile at Barry's excitement. He knew how much his friend had wanted to go in person and now he was. "I asked Felicity to come with me, but she said she had too much work to catch up on to leave. Too bad for her though."

Oliver snorted, shaking his head, staring at the younger male incredulously, "If Felicity wants to go, she is more then welcome to. I won't stop her. Besides, I've heard the two of you talking about this Particle Accelerator for months now, so I know how much this means to you guys."

Barry nodded his head. "I know, and that's what I told her. She doesn't want to leave you and Dig just in case you needed her expertise on anything." He shrugged his shoulder with a smirk, "I guess it's for the better. I would have felt bad if I had to leave her on her own while I was at the precinct." Stepping away from his friend, Barry narrowed his eyes, "You better be careful while I'm not here Ollie. I don't want to get a call from Dinah or Felicity or Dig or Thea telling me you died."

"I'll be extra careful until you return Barry." Oliver promised.

"Alright." Barry furrowed his brows, "I have to let my dad know I'll be in Central City for the unforeseeable future." He smiled, "Detective Lance didn't say how backlogged the CCPD were, but if they're calling another department for help, especially one 600 miles away, they must be in dire need of help, like months behind." Oliver returned the smile, "I'll see you as soon as I get back Ollie." Lunging forward, Barry wrapped his arms around his bestfriends waist. "I know I keep telling you to be careful, but... " He trailed off, "I don't know what I would do if I ever lost you Ollie."

Returning the embrace, Oliver tucked Barry tightly against his chest, "I'm sorry for constantly worrying you Barr." His breath tickled Barry's ear, causing a shiver to race down the youngers spine, "I'll take extra precaution while going out from now on. and I'll call you every morning to let you know I'm alive and taking your advice until you return to Starling and can see it for yourself." Pulling the brunet away, Oliver smiled at the younger male, "Will that eliminate some of your worries?"

Barry snorted, stepping away from the blond, "So I'll expect a call tomorrow morning. I should be awake since I'm taking the redeye train into Central City."

"Why are you taking the train? You should use the private jet instead, you'll arrive in Central a lot faster and can actually sleep before going to the station." Oliver frowned, "You know what... I'll make the calls, you just go say your goodbyes to you dad and pack your bags, I'll deal with everything else."

With a last hug, Barry ran towards the exit, stopping as soon as he reached the threshold, he turned to look over his shoulder, "See you when I get back Ollie." The CSI flashed a smile towards his friend, "And remember, stay out of trouble, and if you can't... well, just don't die!"

Rolling his eyes, Oliver crossed his arms giving Barry unimpressed look. "I'll try." Seeing the look he was being given, his lips curled upwards, into an amused smirk, "But... You should really hurry back, you know I can never stay out of trouble for long that's why I need you here."

"What are you even talking about Ollie?" Barry protested with a frown, "You can't stay out of trouble with me here either."

"All the more reason for you to hurry back." Oliver returned with a smile while Barry rose an eyebrow, "You should really get going before it gets any later." The CSI nodded his head and was about to leave when he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and turned in surprise. He hadn't even known Oliver had moved. "Take care of yourself Barr. And if you ever need me, I'm just one call away."

Barry smiled, "I know Ollie. I'll see you when I get back."

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

He arrived at Central faster then he would have had he taken the train. He made a memo to buy something good for Oliver before he left. The man deserved something nice for thinking about this. As he left the airport, a black car was parked right outside with a sign with his name. Confused, he walked over and questioned the man, only to be told his friend, Oliver, had arranged for the car and a chauffer for however long he was staying here. Amazed and touched by Oliver's thoughtfulness, Barry smiled and made a mental list to upgrade buying something good for Oliver to something great. Until they arrived at the hotel his friend booked and he forgot all about buying Oliver anything. That man deserved something amazing.

As Barry stepped out of the car, the driver came around back and opened the trunk taking out his bags. "Your friend must care for you a lot to go through all this work to make sure you're taken care of."

The man's statement caused Barry to smile. "Oliver does tend to worry about me when I'm not within his eyesight. But, that goes both ways. I probably fuss about him more then his mother does. I can't help it, really. Sometimes, he acts impulsively and it gets him hurt. We get into frequent arguments about it, but it's only because I care about him so much, yet, he still makes it a habit not... " Barry trailed off realizing he was basically telling a stranger his feelings, "I am so sorry for that. I don't know what came over me just now."

"Don't worry about it." His chauffer smiled, "It's nice seeing two friends care about each other as much as you and your friend does."

"Thank-you."

"What time should I be back to pick you up?"

"I have to be at the CCPD at 9, so maybe 8, that way we can get some breakfast." Barry picked up his bag and turned to enter the hotel but stopped and turned, eying the driver, "By the way, what's your name?"

"Steven Riley."

Barry smiled at the older man, "Thank you for being my chauffer for the duration of my stay here."

"It's no problem at all." Steven grinned at the young man. "You have a good night and I'll see you in the morning."

Barry nodded his head, turning and entering the hotel.  
  
  


_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

The next morning, Steven came to pick him up. "So what do you want for breakfast?"

"I'm not all that hungry actually, but is there a place where I can get a cup of coffee and maybe pick up some pastry or something for later?"

Steven hummed, "If it's coffee and pastry's you want, then I know just the place." The older man nodded. "Jitters makes the best coffee in Central City. They also have a variety of baked goods as well."

"That sounds perfect."

"So have you ever been to Central before or is this your first time?"

Barry smiled, staring out the window. "I was born here but moved to Starling City when my parents died."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was a long time ago."

As they arrived at Jitters, Barry opened his door and looked over at Steven, "Are you going to get you anything?"

"No, that's okay. Go on." Steven shooed Barry out, "Get your coffee and pastry or you'll be late."

At that Barry laughed, "Oh, that won't be much of a shocker to anyone who knows me." Seeing the confused look his chauffer was giving him, Barry grinned wider, "I'm always late. To everything. No matter how early I leave my house, I will always end up being late." Stepping out of the car, Barry leaned down to peer at Steven, "Several times, my friends and I would make a plan and set a specific time to be there, not trusting me, a couple of them would come to my house to pick me up." Barry snickered, shrugging, "And we all ended up being late."

"Now that is interesting." Steven chuckled. "But we don't want you being late today, do we. So run along now."

Barry nodded before turning and entering Jitters.

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

As Barry walked into CCPD with his cup of coffee and a bag of pastries, he looked around. "Excuse me."

The man he was addressing turned towards him, with a furrowed brows before a small smile curled his lips. "Oh hello. I'm Detective Eddie Thawne. How can I help you?"

"Yes, sorry, I'm Barry Allen. The SCPD CSI that was coming to help process backlogged evidence." Barry returned the detectives smile as he flashed his ID badge.

"Oh. Yeah. We were told to expect a CSI, I just didn't expect someone so young." The blond waved his arms, "Follow me, I'll take you to the room you'll be using." Barry wondered whether he should see the captain first but Eddie shook his head, "Captain just left with a couple of Detectives to process a crime scene, but I'll let him know you're here when he gets back."

Barry nodded, "Alright then." He murmured.

"Captain assigned this room for your use." Eddie opened the door. "This room isn't being used, but it's fully stocked with everything you will need." As they entered the room, Barry looked around. There was rows of shelves with chemicals, a table with a computer and a white board and some other equipment's. There was a skylight above them and a nice view outside the window. All-in-all, it was a nice room, but not as nice as the one he has at Starling, especially when you are best friends with someone like Tommy Merlyn and Oliver Queen. "If you need anything else, come find me."

Barry faced that Detective with a smile. "Thank-you." Walking towards the table, Barry sat his bag down and eyed the stacks of boxes, "Are all of this the cases that needed help being processed?" He questioned turning his head to peer over his shoulder, seeing the nod, Barry frowned. There was a lot of work to be done.

"Alright, I'll leave you to it then."

Barry nodded, distractedly, already lost in his work.

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

He didn't know how long he was working until a knock on the door drew his attention. Blinking, he turned towards the door. "You must be the CSI from Starling, Bartholomew Allen. I'm Captain David Singh. I'm sorry I wasn't hear to greet you when you arrived."

"That's fine Captain." Barry stood from his chair, "Detective Thawne was helpful."

Singh nodded his head, "Listen, I know you're here to help with the backlogged cases, but I need a favor." Raising and eyebrow, Barry stared at the Captain, "The CSI that was scheduled to work today called out sick and I was wondering if you could come down to the scene and help process it."

"That shouldn't be a problem." He grabbed his jacket off the back of his seat. "Let's go."

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

After telling Detective West where his culprits would most likely be hiding out at, Barry checked the time. "If I leave now, I can still make it before they turn it on." He murmured standing. Grabbing his jacket and slipping it on, Barry left the room, sliding the door to the lab closed. Heading down the stairs, he pulled out his phone about to call Steven to come pick him up when he noticed Detective Thawne leaving the precinct. "Hey Detective Thawne."

Turning, the blond smiled. "Hi. Heading out for the night?"

"Not quite yet. Still have a few more case files to go through before I call it a night." Barry crossed his arms. "But I did want to step out for a bit. See the Particle Accelerator go online." He grinned.

"Ah, you're one of those types." The Detective smiled. "Come on, I was assigned to patrol that site. I can give you a ride there and back."

Barry blinked in surprise before nodding his head. "Thank-you Detective."

"You can call me Eddie."

Barry rose an eyebrow, "Alright." He stated as he entered the squad car, placing his messenger bag by his feet. "By the way, what did you mean when you said I was one of those types? Was that some sort of insult?"

Eddie shook his head starting the car, "No, no. Nothing like that. I just meant that you are into all the Science-y stuff. I don't understand what is so important about this Particle Accelerator." Shaking his head, Barry told Eddie why something like the Particle Accelerator will be revolutionary.

_**~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~ ~..~THE FLASH REIMAGINED~..~** _

In the end, a disappointed Barry Allen was escorted back to the CCPD by Detective Thawne with a bloody nose after some guy tried to steal his bag. "Are you sure you're alright Barry?" Eddie force the perp, the same one who punched Barry in the face, into the chair, handcuffing one of his hands to it. "Here. Your nose is still bleeding." The Detective handed him a Kleenex. "I'm sorry that you missed the Particle Accelerator turning on."

"Thanks." Barry pressed the tissue to his nose, "I'm heading up to the lab to get more work done."

"Okay."

With a backwards wave, Barry ran up the stairs and into the lab. Torrents of rain water beat upon the skylight window, sighing as he noticed the water was getting into the lab. "Damn, really." He murmured, throwing the Kleenex in the trash and placing his bag on the chair, he turned on the computer and searched for the news covering the Particle Accelerator. Finding it, he stood back and took his jacket off, hanging it off the back of the chair.

**_"I'm Linda Park and we are live outside of S.T.A.R. Labs despite the inclement weather which is only going to get worse. The torrential downpour is in no way affecting the Particle Accelerator which is up and running smoothly according to the S.T.A.R. Labs CEO, Harrison Wells."_ **

His phone ringing took his attention from the broadcast. Grabbing his phone, he glanced at the name on the screen and smiled, "Hi, Ollie." He greeted. "How's your night going so far? I hope you didn't get into too much trouble already."

 _"My night is fine. It's a little quite right now, so I decided to call and make sure you were doing alright. You know I worry about you, especially since you're so faraway._ _"_ Barry smiled. It was like pulling teeth to get Oliver to admit his feelings these days, but for him, it had always been easy. Oliver had always come to him when his emotions were the strongest, even before the Island, whether it was happiness, sadness, anger or frustration, he had witnessed it all; especially after his return from Hell. He suppose it was one of the perks of growing up with him, being one of his bestfriends and knowing his biggest secret. _"So, that Particle Accelerator was suppose to turn on tonight wasn't it? Are you there?"_

"Yes and I was before some jerk decided it was a good idea to jump me and steal my bag. One of the CCPD Detectives was patrolling and saw what happened. He arrested him and brought me back to the station." Barry inwardly groaned, cursing his unfiltered mouth. He winced when he heard the curses coming from his friend.

_"What? You were jumped? Barry!"_

"I'm fine, Ollie." The CSI sighed, "I'm just bummed I can't see the Particle Accelerator turn on in person, but, I do have a great view of S.T.A.R Labs from here and I have the news playing a live coverage of it, so, I'll be alright."

_"Are you sure you're alright Barr. I can come out there right now..."_

"Ollie!" Barry laughed, "You don't have to come out here. I'll be fine. I'm at the station already. So, unless someone can sneak pass a room full of Cops and Detectives and get upstairs or scale the side of the building and jump through the skylight windows, I'm perfectly safe in the Lab."

He heard Oliver exhale sharply. _"If there like me, they can. How many times have I been able to sneak pass the SCPD Cops and Detectives to get to your lab? And, if you would recall, I have scaled the side of the station and dropped down into your Lab before, when I couldn't go through the front."_

Barry snorted, rolling his eyes, "Yes and that's because you are a special breed Ollie. Not everyone is trained like you."

_"I've trained you to do that, haven't I?"_

Barry chuckled. He couldn't deny that. Oliver did teach him how to fight, but being of a slighter build then his friend, he often found himself getting knocked down, no matter how hard he tried. It wasn't until he realized he'd never be able to take Oliver in a frontal attack, no, he had to use what he had. He was faster, more nimble, perfect for defense, until an opening presents itself. And when it did, he hit with swift strikes. "Hmm, yes, I suppose you have."

When Oliver returned from the Island, Barry had been in a bad place; trapped in an abusive relationship with no way out. He hid the abuse, not wanting to endanger his friends, especially after the very real threats his ex had been making towards them. He became that mans punching bag every-time something bad happened, or a deal fell through or just whenever he felt like it. During one very bad beating, he was found and rescued by the Hood; it was the first time the vigilante had made an appearance, and after putting an arrow in his ex, the Hood had taken him to the hospital, made sure he got all the help he needed.

The sound of Oliver's voice drew him back to the present. _"... something just came up. I have to go and take care of it. Stay safe and call me in the morning or tonight when you leave the station."_

After reassuring Oliver that he'll call him as soon as he leaves, Barry hung up the phone and faced the computer just as the alarms started blazing catching his entire attention.

**_"... wait, we are now being told to evacuate the facility. The storm may have caused a malfunction to the primary cooling system. Officials are now trying to shut down the Particle Accelerator but have so far been unable to gain control over... "_ **

As the computer shut down, Barry furrowed his brows, raising his eyes to look outside the window. An explosion of power from S.T.A.R Labs erupted upwards, sending shockwaves rippling across the City causing a blackout. A blend of red and gold lightning arched through the explosion. Barry's eyes widened at such power being unleashed, looking up, he frowned. Walking towards the chains, he grabbed them, wanting to conceal the skylight window, as he went to yank on them, something strange caught his eyes. Turning, he watched in surprise as chemicals from the vials rose into the air, defining the laws of physics.

Turning he eyed the chains in his hands before his eyes rose towards the window as storm clouds gathered ominously above, thunder rumbling violently before an angry flash of lightning struck the window, shattering the glass, marking a blazing trail until they found their intended victim, zapping and electrocuting him with enough force to throw him backwards, into a shelf full of chemicals.

_**~..~END CHAPTER~..~** _

Pairings are a toss up.

I have a few ideas, and most of them will be hinted at, in the story.

Olivarry is a definite possibility or they could just be really close friends.

SnowBarry/ FrostFlash is also a possibility. I love them together. 

Patty/Barry - They were really cute. 

ColdFlash - ?

Cisco/Hartley 

Cisco/Lisa

Caitlin/Ronnie - I was already planning on Ronnie surviving. Possibility if Barry is with someone else.

Ronnie/Patty - If this turns out a SnowBarry.

I would have gave Laurel/Barry a chance as well, but as I was writing, I totally sibling-zoned them, I mean I could un-sibling-zoned them, but I kind of like them that way. 

Laurel/Oliver- ? : I do love them together.

Laurel/Eddie are hinted at in a later chapter, what do you think of that?

  
Let me know what your favorite pairing is... and I will consider it... 

The only pairing I won't write is WA.

Key points: 

\- Iris isn't important, to me or this story. Barry/Flash won't have any interactions with her unless she is doing something stupid and reckless; like throwing herself off a building. 

\- Joe makes appearances throughout the story, especially during Barry's interactions at CCPD. As much as I love Joe, he and Barry have no real connection in this story aside from being co-workers. 

\- No kid Flash.

\- No Singularity.

\- Barry is emotionally healthy here and not chasing ghost. He had great support while growing up and it put him in a good place. The death of his parents doesn't haunt him. 

\- He'll have a closer connection to the speed force. Let's see what the speed force generator can really do. 

\- Eobard will find, it's going to be really hard to manipulate someone who can't be influenced. 

\- Cisco and Caitlin are going to have their powers when the accelerator blew but they hid it until they found out about Barry. 

\- Barry will have help from the start, with the assistance of Oliver Queen, they both train Cisco and Caitlin to fight. 

\- If there is anything else you would want to see happen in the story, let me know in the comment section. I have a rough outline of which episodes I want to rewrite and the others will just be mentioned in later chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Flash or Arrow. If I did, well, Laurel wouldn't have died, Iris would have and we wouldn't have to deal with all the soap opera drama that has became part of the show in recent years. _

**_Pairings:_ ** _Oliver/Barry, Eddie/Laurel, Hartley/Cisco, Ronnie/Caitlin_

Pacing the length of the foundry, Oliver pressed his phone to his ear, eyebrows furrowed and lips pulled downward into a frown. The only other person in the room right now, witnessing the near panic stricken billionaire, was John Diggle who stared at his friend in concern. "Oliver... "

"His not answering." Oliver pulled the phone away, angrily pressing the end call button and hit redial, placing the phone back to his ear. "He didn't call me last night and I figured he was just too tired so I let it go. But now he isn't answering his phone. He has never not answered his phone before, not even when his fifty shades pissed at me." The Arrow groaned, "He was attacked last night. I should have pressed him harder for detail. Maybe I should have gone to Central City despite him saying I didn't have to."

"Oliver, you need to calm down. I'm sure Barry is fine."

Pulling his phone away, he repeated the same procedures of ending the call and hitting redial, hoping this time will be different. "You don't know that Digg." Oliver retorted, shaking his head, gripping his phone tightly.

"What's going on?"

Diggle turned at the voice, "Oliver is trying to get into contact with Barry. Apparently he forgot to call Oliver last night when he left the station, but Oliver can excuse that, saying Barry had a long day and was probably tired. So a few hours ago, Oliver is all ready to leave for home, decides to put in a call to Barry to let him know he didn't die, and he hasn't answered his phone. Not once. In the last 2.5 hours. And now, Oliver is having a mini freak out session. "

"It's not like Barry to not answer his phone. You know that. I know that. Hell, everyone, including those he work with knows that. So, why isn't he answering? The only reason he wouldn't answer is if he can't for some reason. Like someone is holding him hostage." Oliver growled out, "And they better hope that's not the case."

"Why would they kidnap Barry? No one in Central City even knows him." Felicity called out, with a raised brow.

Oliver pulled his phone away with a groan. "Well, if Barry had been abducted, it wouldn't be the first time." He murmured. His brows ticking in suppressed anger. "And if that's the case... " He trailed off. He didn't need to continue to know Diggle and Felicity both understood the meaning behind the unvoiced threat.

"What if our boy genius is still sleeping?." Felicity questioned, sitting in her chair, "You said Barry had a long night... and by long night, I met of working, not other stuff, if that's what you thought I meant, which I didn't." Oliver sighed, shooting a look towards the blonde woman, who saw and understood the look for what it was. "Okay, okay. I was just making sure you understood what I meant... anyways... you want me to hack his phone, see where he is?"

Before Oliver could give an answer, the door to the foundry opened causing the three to turn towards the entrance, only to see Laurel come flying down the stairs. Her face was pale, covered in tears and eyes bloodshot. Worried, Oliver met his friend halfway across the foundry just as she rammed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and bursting into tears against him. "Laurel. What's wrong? Did something happen?" The last time he'd seen Laurel cry like this was when Tommy died.

"It's Barry... "

Oliver froze, heart beating rapidly against his chest. Of course it would be about Barry. Did something happen to him? What was going on? "Did you talk to him? I've been trying to call him for almost 3 hours and haven't been able to get through."

Laurel shook her head. "I was called to the SCPD." She whispered, pulling away from Oliver and wiping at her eyes. "I was met by Jay, my dad and the captain. Jay looked just as confused as I did for the reason we were there, apparently it was his day off, so he didn't have a reason to be called in... "

Oliver crossed his arms, "What did they say?"

"CCPD called them... " Laurel raised her hand to her face, wiping at the new tears building in her eyes as she sniffled. "The Officer didn't go into too much detail over the phone and the only information the captain could get from him was that the Particle Accelerator at S.T.A.R. Labs had some kind of failure and it exploded." Laurel sobbed. "The explosion killed less then twenty people but even more were injured."

Oliver stomach churned, eyes widening in horror. Was he about to hear that his bestfriend was dead? That he was about to lose another person he cared for.

"... the CCPD officer doesn't know anything more."

Oliver blinked, "What?"

"When we get to Central, we have to go to the CCPD and get more information. The Officer that called didn't have any updates concerning Barry, the only thing they knew for sure was he had been one of the many casualties."

Giving his head a few quick jerks, in some form of a nod, Oliver willed his body to move. "Where is Jay?"

"Right outside of Verdant."

"Okay. Let's go." He called out, turning, he glanced towards Diggle and Felicity. "You two stay here just in case something happens. I'll call to let you know what Barry's condition is." Was Oliver's last words as he led Laurel out of the foundry and verdant, meeting up with Jay. "Do you need to get anything or do you have everything you'll need?"

"I'm fine." Jay sniffed. "I just want to know how my son is doing." The man turned his head away as the tears welled up in light brown eyes, "I can't lose him too." His words were soft, almost unheard. Laurel walked over and wrapped her arms around her bestfriends father.

"You won't Jay." Laurel replied, shaking her head. "Barry is too strong and too stubborn to just leave us like this. He can't. He knows he has to be here to keep Oliver out of trouble, if nothing else."

Jay let out a watery laugh at that, wiping his eyes. "Yeah. I suppose."

Oliver at any other time, would have glared at Laurel for her comment, but he let it go now. "Come on. While one of you drive, I'll call the airfield to have the jet ready for immediate take off." Jay and Laurel nodded their heads as they walked towards Jay's car and got in. 'Please be alright Barr. I don't know what we'll do without you.'

**_-In Central City-_ **

As they entered the CCPD, the three looked around the crowded station, searching for at least one Officer who would be able to help them. Finding a slightly older one, leaning against a wall not too far from them, the three approached him, hoping this man would know something, anything, about their friend/son. "Excuse me, we got a call earlier from an Officer here." The man glanced at them with a raised brow, "He told us that our friend Barry Allen was hurt during the explosion and couldn't say anything more. We were wondering if you knew where he was? Or if you had any updates on his condition or anything?"

"I don't know who you are talking about?" The cop replied, "I don't know anyone by that name. And if you haven't noticed, we are quite busy. I don't know why someone would call you to come here, but your friend Bart... "

"His name is Barry. Barry Allen." Laurel growled out, "And you wouldn't know him. He is the lead CSI investigator for the SCPD who was asked to come here to help your station deal with backlogged cases." She crossed her arms, "And I can see that you are really busy. And I'm sorry about that, but the only thing I want to know is the whereabouts of my friend."

Before the cop could open his mouth to reply, a blond haired and blue eyed detective walked over. "Office Tomas, I've got this." That was a clear dismissal. Officer Tomas slanted a look towards the detective before shrugging one disinterested shoulder before walking away. "Sorry about him. We all had a long night, but that's still no reason for him to treat you so callously. I'm detective Eddie Thawne by the way. How can I help you?"

"Early this morning, one of your officers contacted SCPD about CSI Barry Allen. His our bestfriend." Laurel turned and looked towards Jay. "That's his father, Jayden Allen. We just want to know where he is and if his alright." Returning her attention towards the blond detective, tears filling her eyes. "Please. Please help us. We just want to... " She lost the fight with her tears. Barry had always been like a younger brother to her; closer to her then even her sister, and the thought of something bad happening to him, broke her heart.

Oliver stepped forward and drew Laurel into his arms as she broke down. "We came all the way from Starling. If you can't tell us anything about Barry, can you at least point us in the direction of someone who can?"

Eddie's face fell, a sympathetic expression gracing his face as he nodded his head. "I know who you are talking about. I had the pleasure of making his acquaintance Yesterday. I'm guessing you already know about the explosion at S.T.A.R. Labs?" At their nods, Eddie sighed, "Allen was upstairs in the lab when it happened. Lightning struck through the skylight windows, shattering the glass and hitting him. He was found lying across one of the shelves in the lab, drenched in the chemicals that were once on it."

"Struck by lighting?" Jay gasped, eyes wide in horror.

Eddie gave a solemn nod. "It's strange though. We don't understand why the lightning hadn't been drawn towards the rod. It shouldn't have struck Barry... " He flinched at the look the trio were giving him. "Not that that is the important thing right now. I bet you want to know about Barry." Seeing the nods, he continued, "He was rushed to the hospital. Last I heard, he was in a coma. The doctors aren't sure if he'll survive. They say his heart keep stopping." He flinched at the insensitive wording. "I'm sorry."

"Oh my... " Laurel covered her mouth, tears filling her eyes. "No." She shook her head, "I can't lose someone else I care about. We just lost Tommy last year. We can't lose someone else."

Reaching over, Oliver wrapped an arm over the lawyers shoulder, allowing her to burrow into his side. "We won't lose him. Barry is too strong and stubborn to leave us on our own." He whispered against Laurel's ear. "Come on." He glanced at the detective, "Thank-you but we must take our leave." With that said, the hooded vigilante led Jay and Laurel out of the precinct and towards the hospital. 


	3. Filter

_**Disclaimer:** _ _I don't own The Flash or Arrow._

_*_ _At the end of the chapter, there is a rough timeline for this story starting from when the Gambit sank. It mostly hits on what went on in Starling and about Oliver stay on Lian Yu and then Hong Kong. Please at least look at it, so there isn't any confusion regarding this story. Some events didn't happen. Like the Alpha-Omega bioweapon, that event was stopped so Akio never died. Amanda Waller died. Lyla took over Argus. Maseo is apart of ARGUS under Lyla, so he never joined the League of Assassins. Oliver after checking on his family and friends in Starling returned to Argus to help clean it up._

_There is also some other events that happened, and people that turned up. So just take a look at it, if you don't, then don't complain to me about things not making sense later.*_

_*This chapter hits on some of Barry, Tommy, Laurel and Oliver as teenagers. When Oliver and Laurel were dating and what happened when they all found Oliver cheated on Laurel with Sara. The fallout between Laurel, her sister and mother. How they (Oliver, Barry and Laurel) reconciled their friendship.*_

_._

_._

_**Chapter 3:** _

Nine months.

That's how long it's been since the Particle Accelerator exploded. Knowing Jay wanted to move to Central eventually, Oliver had a house build on the outskirts of the city and by the time the detective put in for a transfer and was accepted into the ranks of CCPD, (becoming the partner of another transferee, a detective from Keystone, Edward 'Eddie' Thawne,) the house had been finished and ready for Jay to move in.

Jay hadn't been the only one who made the move from Starling to Central. A month after Jay left, Laurel followed. She put in for a transfer and was welcome into the D.A.'s office, specifically, she worked closely with the CCPD alongside Cecile Horton. The older woman took the former Starling native under her wing and taught her everything she knew. And Jay was more then happy to have another occupant staying in his house, especially the young woman who became almost like a daughter to him.

Oliver made weekly trips to Central to visit Barry; staying five days out of the week, only returning to Starling to check up on the business; the many different businesses that had been acquired by Barry. He really didn't have much else in Starling and everything that really mattered to him was in Central. Roy, Cindy and Thea were living in Keystone, having moved there right after Moira was killed. After Slade and Isabel were dealt with, Oliver retired as the Arrow, despite both Felicity and Diggle wanting him to continue. He couldn't. Not right now anyways. Felicity returned to her IT job at Queen Consolidated while Diggle got a job with ARGUS, attempting to patch things up with Lyla.

Oliver formerly meant Barry's vigilante business friend who helped Barry save his company from Isabel and Slade while he was off on Lian Yu right after the Undertaking. And they officially signed a merger, knowing Barry would have liked it that way. When tall, dark and handsome left, Oliver still couldn't believe Barry had been able to make friends with the illusive billionaire and former playboy himself. And he never would have guessed he was a vigilante as well.

Oliver was also in charge of making sure the newly named Tommy Merlyn Foundation and the reopened Rebecca Merlyn Clinic kept running. It amazed him the things Barry can do when he puts his mind to it. And the thing that most impressed him was how Barry was able to clean up the Glades. Gathering help from numerous people, especially those people who live in the Glades, who knew everyone and everything that goes down in the area, they were able to arrest criminals that could be arrested and for those more dangerous individual, ARGUS has been called in to round then up.

So, yeah, after everything that has happened in 2013, from Tommy's death, to Barry being struck by lightning, it had been a pretty crappy year, and 2014 wasn't any better, with Barry still being in a coma and the whole disaster with Slade and Isabel, 2014 wasn't looking any better and the only thing that would save this year, would be if Barry woke up.

.

**~..~..~..~**

**S.T.A.R. Labs**

"Hey Caitlin, Cisco." Laurel greeted, stepping into the room. "How is Barry doing today?"

"Hi Laurel." Caitlin returned the greeting while Cisco grinned towards the lawyer, "His vitals are improving, I wouldn't be too surprise if he woke up soon."

A relieved smiled graced Laurel's face, "That's great." She took a sit next to the bed, taking Barry's hand in her own and giving it a little squeeze. "Nothing has been the same since he was struck by the lightning." Her murmured words caught both the doctor and the engineers attention. "Have I ever told you guys about the day I met Barry?" She paused briefly, watching as they shook there heads, taking seats around the room. This was nothing new, whenever one of Barry's many friends came to see him, they always had a new story to tell them. "He skipped a few grades, so he was younger and definitely smaller then everyone else, the prefect target for bullies to pick on."

Cisco and Caitlin frowned at that. They had their fair share of being bullied, it wasn't any fun.

"I didn't like that. So I stuck up for him, made sure everyone left him alone." Laurel gripped the hand in hers tightly, "I introduced him to Oliver and Tommy, who both were confused, but Tommy had taken to Barry almost immediately; after several months, began thinking of him as a kid brother. When Barry found out Tommy was having trouble in couple of his classes, he began tutoring him. It took longer for Oliver to warm up to Barry though."

"Really?" Cisco rose an eyebrow. "I would never have guessed. Oliver seems overly protective of him now though."

Laurel laughed, nodding her head. "Yeah, you wouldn't have known unless you knew them before they became close." The lawyer sighed, closing her eyes, before opening them to peer at the doctor and the engineer. "Back then, Oliver and I were dating." She scoffed lightly, "If you could call it that. I'm sure you know how he was before. When we got together, I thought he had enough respect, at least for our friendship, that he wouldn't mess around on me. I was a fool to think I'd be any different from everyone else."

"He cheated on you?" Caitlin whispered, sympathetic to the woman's pain.

"Yeah." she nodded her head, "I don't know how many times he did it before Barry caught him and confronted him about it. We were all at this party. Tommy and I were hanging out with a group of our friends, Barry had been with us, but he saw something and had taken off. A while later, Adam, a boy who was pretty friendly with Barry, told us that he and Oliver were fighting." She shook her head. "Tommy and I came running. When we arrived, Oliver had Barry pinned to the ground, his arm raised to punch him when Tommy grabbed him and yanked him off of Barry, demanding to know what was going on."

"And that's when Barry told you?"

Laurel nodded her head. "Yeah." She whispered. "I ended it as soon as I heard what Oliver had done. I looked at him, and the look on his face told me everything I needed to know. He was guilty. He didn't even have to admit it to me. I just knew. I threatened to end our friendship if Oliver came near me before I was ready to talk to him again. And told him if he ever put his hands on Barry again, I'll make sure it was the last thing he ever did."

Caitlin and Cisco looked impressed by that.

Laurel stared at Barry briefly before turning her attention towards the doctor and the engineer. "The saddest thing about that whole ordeal... I think... " The lawyer sighed, shaking her head, "I know... Barry and I would have forgiven Oliver sooner if he'd decided to cheat on me with some random girl; we all knew his reputation after all, but he didn't cheat on me with some random girl, no, he was with my younger sister, Sara."

"What?!" Cisco called out, while Caitlin's eyes widened in shock. "Your sister?"

Laurel nodded her head. "Yeah. I think it was that fact more then the cheating that set Barry off. Don't get me wrong, he would have been pissed regardless, but because Oliver had chosen to sleep with Sara, he knew this betrayal would hurt me the most. My boyfriend and my younger sister." Laurel scoffed, "I definitely felt that sting. After we left that party, I found out Sara went home after Barry caught them."

Cisco and Caitlin shared a look before turning their attention back towards Laurel.

"Tommy took Barry home after dropping me off, they both wanted to stay but I felt it was best if I did this on my own. When I entered the house, Sara was sitting with our mom, acting all innocent, as if she hadn't just been caught screwing my boyfriend." Leaning back in her chair, Laurel stared at Barry. "As soon as I entered the house, Sara took one look at me and she knew that I knew what she had done. She opened her mouth to say something but I didn't give her time to start. I just confronted her about what she did. Demanded to know why she slept with him knowing that I was dating him. I wanted to know what I'd done that was so bad to her that she'd decided to hurt me like this." Laurel shook her head, swallowing. "Mom looked startled at the way I was yelling at Sara. Until it became apparent that she had known... she knew... she knew Sara had left the house and had gone to the party... admitted to knowing what Sara was going to do."

"Holy... Damn!" Cisco murmured.

"And I thought my mom was a cold witch." Caitlin whispered. "I can't believe your mother allowed your sister to do something like that."

"I was so hurt... so angry... at both my mother and sister... I ran from the house... went to Barry's. I told him everything that happened as I bawled my eyes out." Laurel swallowed, "I moved in with Jay and Barry after that. I couldn't go home. Not while mom and Sara were there. Jay told my dad what was going on. I have never seen dad so mad before. He couldn't believe his wife had allowed Sara to sleep with my boyfriend, after mom admitted everything to him. I think that was beginning of the end for our family. Sara moved away from Starling as soon as she graduated and mom left soon after Sara did. I haven't spoken to either of them since I was 17. There are some days where I miss Sara and want to know how she is doing, but... "

"You don't know if you can ever forgive her for what she did?"

Laurel nodded her head. "Barry has always been there for me, since the first day I befriended him. He is the younger brother I never had. I just want him to wake up."

"He will. His vitals are improving more and more everyday. It won't be much longer."

"I have to ask... " Cisco burst out, causing all heads to turn towards him, "How is it that Barry and Oliver are so close now if they weren't even friends before?"

Laurel shook her head, "It's not that they weren't friends, Oliver would step in and protect Barry and look out for him if Tommy and I weren't around, they just weren't as close and the fault for that lay with Oliver; he was so busy causing trouble, he never really got the time to get to know Barry, and Barry wasn't the type to mince words. He told Oliver exactly what he thought about his actions and the way he tended to treat people. Oliver didn't like that much."

"I bet he didn't."

"When Oliver and I started dating, Barry told me to be careful; that he didn't want Oliver to hurt me." Laurel snorted, shaking her head. "And we all know now, how wrong I was about that choice. Oliver did have a reputation as a billionaire playboy, I knew that. Barry knew that. Everyone in Starling and possibly the world, knew that. But I was young and naïve. Thought I would be different because we were friends first."

"That's probably the worse thing about the whole cheating incident."

Laurel nodded her head. "It was. The fact that Oliver could do that to me despite our years of friendship... " Laurel sighed, "Before that cheating incident, we were doing good. We were dating for two years. I was 18, we were about to graduate in a few months and I wanted us to take the next step in our relationship."

Sharing a look the S.T.A.R. Labs employees looked awkward at the possible meaning behind those words. Laurel seeing their freaked out expression, laughed.

"Not like that." She replied, with a wide smile. "I wanted to move in together. Get our own place. I brought this up to Oliver one day and he seemed okay with the idea, at first. Then he started pulling away. I didn't notice at first because I was too busy with classes but then it came to a point where even Barry was beginning to realize something was wrong, and Barry, at this point just turned twelve, so he doesn't notice much in the romance department, but when he began to question if Oliver and I broke up... "

"You realized you and Oliver had drifted?"

"Yeah. So I went to talk to Oliver. And everything went back to how it use to be. I was making time to spend with Oliver and not just focusing on my schoolwork. Oliver spent less time being disruptive and causing havoc around Starling. Until... Oliver started pulling away again. Making excuses why he couldn't see me on certain days. In hindsight, I should have saw that for what it was, but I didn't." Exhaling, Laurel glanced at the bed, "Not until that Party where my entire world was, metaphorically, collapsing around me. In one move I lost my boyfriend, my sister and my mother. My entire family had been ripped apart just because my sister wanted to screw my boyfriend and my mother allowed it to happen."

"I thought my family was dysfunctional." Cisco murmured. "What about Tommy? I know Barry sided with you, but this must have been harder on him seeing as he is stuck between his best friends."

"Tommy definitely didn't have it easy and he didn't choose a side but he made it quite clear to Oliver that he wasn't pleased by his actions; wanted everything out in the open, no hiding things that could later come back and ruin whatever friendship we'd be able to salvage."

"A very smart man." Caitlin nodded her head. "At least you wouldn't be too surprise or hurt later if the incident is brought back up."

Laurel nodded her head. "Yeah. Oliver agreed as well, though reluctantly and guilty. The whole time we were talking, he never once looked at anyone." She closed her eyes. "He admitted to only cheating twice. Once with a woman named Samantha Clayton, just some random girl he met at a party. He got drunk and they slept together. It was right after I told him we should move in together. And, the second time was with Sara."

"Twice, within what? Weeks of you wanting to move in?"

"Yeah. I told Oliver he was a dick before getting up and leaving. Barry followed soon after. Tommy was the only one who stayed, not that I thought he'd leave Oliver by himself. But... " Laurel shrugged. "A month after we had that talk though, I noticed something weird with Barry. I would, on occasion, see Barry watching Oliver. Not saying or doing anything, just observing him. I questioned him once about why he was watching Oliver like that. The only thing he told me was that something was different with Oliver. I didn't understand what he met, but I didn't question him and he didn't elaborate. But, soon enough, I didn't need Barry to tell me what he met by Oliver changing. I saw it for myself."

"Oh, what happened?"

"The once famous playboy billionaire, known for his partying, wild antics and being plastered on the cover of every tabloid and magazine in Starling City, hadn't done one outrageous thing since Barry had confronted him at that party."

Looking surprise at that, Cisco and Caitlin just stared at Laurel, "Really?" Cisco questioned.

"After ending my relationship with Oliver, I avoided being anywhere near him, Sara and my mother. I was too hurt and angry to want to reconcile with any of them. And the fact that my mother not only knew, but allowed, Sara to go to that party knowing full well she had intended to sleep with Oliver. I just didn't know what to feel about that. I don't know what I ever did to either of them to deserve being hurt like that by them. But once I started seeing the change in Oliver, the more I realized, he wasn't the same person he was just a month prior. I questioned Tommy and the only thing he knew for sure was that Oliver's strange behavior started a couple of days after that party."

"Where he and Barry had that fight?" Caitlin asked.

"Yeah. Since that party and our talk, Oliver hadn't gone to a single party. Hadn't gotten drunk. He didn't do anything that would reflect negatively on his family or warrant being featured on the front cover of any magazines. And the thing that shocked me most, was the fact that Oliver hadn't gone out with anyone since we broke up. And not because he had a lack of invites. He still got offers, despite knowing how he likes to treat his partners."

"Well, people would do anything to date a billionaire, I supposed." Caitlin mused. "Think whatever Barry had said to him at that party made Oliver think twice about his actions and the choices he makes. From everything you said, it seems like Oliver didn't often think things through before doing it. Didn't think of the consequences or the fallouts or the people he would hurt because of his actions."

"Impulsive." Laurel smiled, "Barry often said that Oliver was impulsive. Always doing things without thinking them through first. But that was him before he was marooned on an Island for five years, now though." Laurel shakes her head with a sigh, "He does think things through, but some habits are still too hard for him to break then you'd think."

"What? The cheating?" Cisco asked, earning him a narrowed eyed look from Caitlin.

"His impulsive nature." Laurel replied. "He's still really impulsive and often times Barry has to reel him back or the times where he can't and Oliver gets hurt, Barry is the one who has to patch him up despite him telling Oliver countless times that he isn't a doctor, he is a forensic chemist and only operate on dead people not the living."

"Why doesn't Oliver just go to the hospital?"

"Doesn't like hospitals and he can't be around too many people. He starts getting anxious and the last time we took him to a hospital, he suffered a major break down. We figured it would be better to just have Barry fix him up whenever he got himself hurt."

"PTSD from his time spent on the Island?"

Laurel nodded his head. "Exactly."

"So, Oliver started changing." Cisco cut in, wanting to know more. "What else? I still don't understand how they became this close if they still weren't even friends." Caitlin shot a glare towards her friend, mouthing the words _'really?'_ , which earned her a sheepish look and a shrug. He was curious.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Laurel frowned as memories from so long ago resurfaced. "They were abducted." Her words caused both Caitlin and Cisco to stare at her with eyes wide in surprise. "Well, technically, the _thing_ wanted Barry. It had him too and was about to leave when Oliver jumped on it's back and was taken as well."

Laurel didn't like like thinking about that day or the three days that passed while they were missing. Just thinking about that day, brought nothing but pain and anger and fear. On some days, she was _scared_ the _thing_ would come back and take Barry again. Hurt him like he did the first time. Then she felt the _anger_ churning in her gut; so powerful she felt like it would consume her. She just wanted her little brother to be safe.

"He was abducted?" Both Caitlin and Cisco stared at Laurel in shock. "By who?"

"The man in yellow!"

**~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~**

**_End Chapter_ **

**_~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~..~_ **

_This chapter was made more for filter purposes then anything. I just wanted to hit on a few events in Starling while Barry was in his coma. This is pretty much a rough timeline and events that happened, just to give you all an idea of what happened._

**_New Timeline:_ **

**_2007:_ ** _Gambit sank. (Ages: Barry:16, Tommy/Oliver/Laurel:22)_

_\- Laurel, Tommy and Barry were always at the Queen mansion making sure both Thea and Moira were doing alright and being taken care of. Often staying the night at the mansion to make sure the two got some sleep._

_\- Seeing the toll Robert and Oliver's passing was having on Moira, Barry, having double majored in business, decided to help out at QC on his off days, making sure everything ran smoothly and when Walter was announced as the new CEO, he still made time to come to the company and help out. Often times dropping hints at Walter that Moira needed someone._

_\- Moira, unknown to everyone slowly started buying out holdings from her own company when possible. And started putting them into an account for Barry._

**_-*And because Thea always had Barry, Laurel and Tommy, she didn't feel alone and abandoned despite losing her father and brother. She didn't fall in with the wrong crowd. Didn't party, drink or do any drugs. *_ **

**_2008:_ ** _Barry(17) meets and befriends a businessman from New Jersey._

_-They keep in contact and whenever he needs advice he goes to him for it._

_-They often talk about a possible merger in the future._

_-Barry meets Roy Harper(17) when he tried to break into a house. He stopped him and took the other teen to a nearby diner where he brought the him food instead of calling the cops. He recognized who Roy was when he first saw the other teen; seen him around the precinct often times._

_-After hearing what Roy's been through, Barry offered him a room in his house which he shared with another friend of his, but he needed to straighten up. Took time to tutor the other teenager and made him get his GED and gave him a place of employment within QC where he made an honest paycheck. He joined the security detail in the company and often helped Barry with research projects he was working on._

_-Roy meets Thea(13), Tommy and Laurel(both 23) and all three welcome him. He also meets Barry's father Jay, who like Barry, often seen him at the precinct. A bit standoffish at first, not knowing if the teen was genuine but hearing his story and everything his son has done for Roy and knowing the teen was changing, he accepted him into his family._

**_2009:_ ** _Talk of building a science building is brought up._

_-Applied Science of QC is in the works._

_-Barry is in charge of it. He does the screening and interviews. Is known for being a hard-ass whose turned away more people then he hires._

_-He also uses this building to conduct more of his more pressing cases for the SCPD, especially if he needs privacy._

_-He and Laurel decided to inspect the closed down Queen Industry building in the Glades, thinking about reopening the building or reconstructing it for a different project. Thea and Roy decided to tag along with them. And while Barry and Laurel were discussing the work that would need to be done to even get the building certified, Thea and Roy wondered away._

_-They were found hours later by a distraught and worried pair who scolded them both for leaving and not saying anything especially since they decided to do something so reckless in the worse part of town. It was then the two saw the girl that was behind both Thea and Roy. Hearing her story, Barry and Laurel decided to take her with them. Cindy Simone(12) moved in with Barry, Laurel and Roy._

_-Jay just grins when he finds out about the girl and easily accepts her into his ever growing and extending family._

_-With two additional people living with them, Barry and Laurel decided living in an 3 bedroom apartment wouldn't work anymore, especially with Thea and Tommy often dropping in and spending days at a time at their place. They went searching for a house. The search comes to a stop when Moira offers to have a place build for them._

_-They moved into the house towards the end of that year._

_-He finds out his friend, the businessman, is his city's vigilante._

**_2010:_ ** _They heard rumors of Oliver being alive._

_-Tommy decides he needs to be the one who goes and sees if it's true._

_-After several years of doing reports and going through various background checks and accounts, Barry noticed several corrupted people working within QC. Building a profile of each individual, he brought his findings to both Walter and Moira and those people were promptly terminated on grounds of criminal espionage and were imprisoned._

_-When Tommy returned from China and told them what had happened to him over there. Barry became really suspicious and began looking into things. The more he began looking, the more he became sure that Oliver was alive and he was the one responsible for threatening Tommy. The whole thing reeked off a set up, a way to get Tommy out of Hong Kong. Alive._

_-After a few months, he came across a name, ARGUS and began researching who they were and what they wanted. He found out they were an organization within the government meant to operate in secret and deal with terrorism and major threats. But the only thing he could see was a corrupted director who was just as bad or worse then the terrorist she was suppose to stop._

_-He request help from his vigilante friend. And after hearing about Amanda Waller and everything she has her hands in, he decides to help Barry._

_-A few months later his vigilante friend approached Barry with several events. Firstly, Hong Kong had been under threat of Alpha-Omega and how he had helped put a stop to those plans. He also told Barry that ARGUS had dealt with Amanda and a new director was appointed to take her position and he did a thorough check on the woman and deemed her alright. Her name was Lyla Michaels and she promised to clean up all of Amanda's messes. And the last news he had for Barry was that he had been right. Oliver Queen was alive but he was in the wind, having escaped sometime after the Alpha-Omega incident._

_-Knowing Oliver was alive and trying to find his way home was enough for Barry. Approaching Peter Kang's office to clear it out and find any other evidence against the man._

**_*Everything after the Alpha-Omega Bioweapon didn't happen since it was stopped. Oliver returned to Starling after he was sure Maseo and his family was going to be safe in the new ARGUS directors care. Maseo stayed with ARGUS and never joined League of Assassins. Akio is alive. Oliver checked in with his friends and family and after making sure they were really alright, he returned to ARGUS to help with the clean up.*_ **

**_2011:_ ** _Barry finds himself in an abusive relationship._

_-Unknown to him at the time, the guy he started dating was not a good man as he was led to believe. And by the time he found out, it was too late. The guy threaten to kill everyone Barry knew and cared for if he so much as decided to leave him or tell anyone what was going on._

_-Later that year, he started becoming withdrawn and hiding away from his friends. Worried for him, Tommy, Laurel, Thea, Roy and Cindy would do everything they could to get Barry to talk to them. Nothing worked._

**_2012:_ ** _Oliver returns to Starling._

_-Having stayed with ARGUS for the last several years in order to help Lyla clean it up, Oliver is pulled away by Maseo, who stayed with ARGUS as well. But kept his eyes and ears of Starling. He told Oliver that his friend is in trouble and that he needed to return to Starling before it gets worse._

_-Finding out that Barry was trapped in an abusive relationship and being threatened into staying, pissed Oliver off and after leaving ARGUS with no intention of returning, Oliver decided he had his own things to deal with now. It was time he starts cleaning up his own city starting with this guy who thought it was okay to abuse his best friend and then he'd start dealing with the names on the list._

_-Once arriving in Starling, Oliver wasted no time in locating Barry. He wasn't at SCPD, so the only other place he'd be at this time of day would be the Applied Science division. Arriving at the building, Oliver saw Barry was there along with Roy and Thea._

_-Roy and Thea who just started dating, decided to head off for a date while Barry stayed a bit longer. The fear in Barry's eyes when he started making his way home, pained Oliver. He should have returned home after Amanda had been dealt with. He should have protected Barry from ever having to deal with this._

_-Upon noticing his abusive boyfriend wasn't around, Barry had taken off into his house and to his room in relief, unaware of his silent observer. Oliver perched outside of his window, watching as the boy got his things ready to take a shower, Oliver turned away. He would never be able to forgive himself for allowing this to happen to the most kindest person he knew. And after what happened when they were teenagers, he had vowed never to let anyone hurt Barry like that again, but he failed at that._

_-Knowing Barry was safe for the night, Oliver left the house when Laurel and Tommy arrived, moments before Roy and Thea appeared, Cindy was already in her room. With one last wistful look at the house and the friends he would soon be reunited with and a sister he hadn't seen in five years, who was doing so well in life, he left the house._

_-Several days later, after taking up his identity as the hood, and still no sign of Barry's abusive boyfriend, Oliver decided to take care of some of the name on the list while keeping an eye on Barry. And it was fluke that had Oliver arriving at a scene, when he came across Barry and a man he didn't know in an alleyway. Barry was curled up on the ground, crying while the man loomed over him. Yelling and kicking the brunet. Enraged, Oliver shot the man four times and even when he was sure the man was dead, he couldn't help but shoot him one more time._

_-Barry turned towards him then, and even with the hood and his face being hidden by shadows and grease paint, Barry took one look at him and knew without a doubt who he was. Oliver carried Barry to a hospital calling for help. As soon as he was wheeled away, Oliver slipped away unaware of Barry whispering his name._

_-A few days after that incident, Oliver made a reappearance in Starling. Telling the detectives how he was rescued from the Island and dropped off at the port. And took a taxi to the precinct from there. Detective Lance called Moira and then Laurel telling them about Oliver being alive. Tommy was with Laurel when she found out. Moira called Thea. Jay went up to Barry's lab and told him._

_-Coming down the stairs, Barry whisked Oliver up to his lab. And began bawling his eyes out while hugging Oliver and telling him how happy he was that he was alive and thanking him for saving him. Seeing the look on Oliver's face, Barry reassured him that he wasn't going to say anything but he was still thankful for what he did._

_-The rest of the group came to the lab and was reunited with Oliver. And the latter meeting Roy and Cindy._

_-When they were alone, Oliver offered to train Barry so if he ever finds himself in a situation like that again, he knew how to defend himself. And how he shouldn't be afraid to tell someone when he is being abused, especially since he is the son of a cop._

_-Oliver didn't kill as the hood, he does injure them and most of the criminals are found with arrows protruding from various parts of their bodies. Diggle was still hired as his body guard and he ends up meeting Oliver's group of friends._

_-Laurel, Tommy, Thea, Roy and Cindy were already aware of Oliver's identity as the Hood. And often helped him out. Diggle is soon invited into the fold, once they knew he was trustworthy._

_-Deciding to use the basement of Queen's industrial Inc as the base of operation, Barry and Laurel decided they couldn't just reopen the place as another location for QC, so instead they converted into a nightclub. Verdant and left Tommy and Thea in charge of it. Roy, when not working security at QC, helped out around Verdant along with Cindy, when she isn't in school._

_-Felicity was brought into the fold when they needed a hacker._

_-Moira came clean about Malcolm's plan to level the Glades with a manmade earthquake machine._

**_2013:_ ** _Despite all their efforts, Malcolm succeeded in his plan to level the Glades._

_-Tommy tried to stop his father from going through with his plan, but in a moment of anger, Malcolm shot Tommy with an arrow. Grief-stricken by what he had done, Malcolm never noticed the gun in his son's hand before Tommy shot him with a curare bullet, knowing if he was going to die, at least he'd be taking his father with him._

_-Laurel, Oliver and Barry were beside Tommy as he took his last breathe._

_-After the devastation of the glades, and Tommy's death,_ _Oliver exiles himself to Lian Yu, while Barry and the others do all they could to help the survivors and fix up the Glades as best they could. Using sources provided from QC, they were able to get the work done and once other people started hearing about the disaster and their efforts to help and support these people who lost everything, people from all over, who heard about the attack, came to help as well._

_-Initially the people from the Glades were angry when they heard that Merlyn and Queen were behind the attack on their home, but after hearing how Tommy sacrificed his life to stop his father and then how both the Merlyn and Queens money were going into improving their lives and their home, how could they be mad._

_-Within months, the Glades looked better then ever. The section of Iron Heights that had been destroyed was repaired and the escaped criminals were found and rounded up. Tommy's death motivated his friends to continue the work he wanted to accomplish. Crime within the Glades dropped to an all-time low when the major crime bosses and mobsters were either taken to Iron Heights or the more dangerous ones were handed off to ARGUS and taken to Lian Yu._

_-Tommy's lawyer approached them with several envelopes. Each addressed to different people. Barry received two. The first was a personal letter telling him how proud he made Tommy every day and how happy he was to have known him. Towards the ending of the letter, Tommy mentioned that he knew he was going to die, but he was going to do it, taking his father with him. The second letter was a will. In it was instructions that should anything happen to him or his father, the family company, Merlyn Global Group and Rebecca Merlyn's Clinic will go to Barry and he can do with it whatever he wants._

_-Rebecca Merlyn's Clinic was reopened and would cater to the Glade residents who couldn't afford medical or dental for free. Merlyn Global Group was reconstructed and renamed, The_ _Tommy Merlyn Foundation; which offered financial help to those in need. It always helped the families of the people who lost either their lives or homes during the destruction._

_-Slade and Isabel made an appearance and tried to take over Queen Consolidated with Oliver being MIA, Moira in prison and Thea only having 20% of the shares for QC, it looked like the pair was about to succeed in their hostile takeover. Having heard about what was going on, Moira placed a call to Barry asking him to meet her in prison. Once he meets her,_ _about an account she opened up for him 6 years ago._

_-He was shocked and surprise to discover just what Moira had for him. She had brought out 50% of her own company shares and put them under his name. So with him owning 50%, Thea having 20% and Walter telling them he has 10% of the shares, that would leave them with 80% in total and 20% unaccounted for. Thea told him later that the missing 20% was Oliver's shares. So with the group holding 100% of the shares, there was nothing Slade or Isabel could do._

_-Feeling in over his head and having nowhere else to turn, Barry requested help from his friend in New Jersey who came and helped him with the businesses, offering up and a merger and blacklisting Isabel from stepping foot near QC, he even went so far as going to her bosses at_

_-After successfully putting a stop to Isabel and Slade's plan to destroy QC from the inside. Isabel, angered by this, vowed revenge against Barry, who wasn't fazed by her threat._

_-Slade kidnaps Roy and experiments on him. Injecting him with Mirakuru._

_-Barry sends both Diggle and Felicity to Lian Yu to get Oliver back while he and Laurel try to find Roy and Cindy was left to try and comfort a distraught Thea._

_-Moira was acquitted and released from prison after the proof Barry and Laurel gathered that basically said, Moira had no idea what Malcolm was planning on doing._

_-When Oliver finally returned from the Island with Diggle and Felicity, he was told what was going on during his absence. Horrified that Barry was in the center of both Isabel and Slade's attention, he told Barry to lay low. Barry refused to cower in front of the two, especially since they took Roy._

_-After finding Roy, Oliver knew immediately what was wrong with him and told Barry who started trying to create a cure for it. After several weeks, Barry created one and had Oliver injected into Roy. Seeing that the cure worked, Barry created several more and placed them in a secured location with the only people knowing where he hid them being Oliver and Laurel._

_-While fighting an opponent, Oliver gets severely injured and poisoned. Barry rushes to Oliver aid after being called. He arrives just in time to witness, Oliver crashing on the table and the only thing that saved his life was his quick thinking._

_-Barry is sent to CCPD. Where he is struck by lightning and placed in a coma. Laurel and Jay's decision to leave Starling and relocate to Central. Oliver has a house build there that would be able to accommodate everyone._

**_2014:_ **

_-Before Barry left for CCPD, he and a group of scientist at S.T.A.R. Labs in Starling were designing a plan for the Glades, and after what happened with Barry, they felt even more inclined to help him realize his dream, especially after what nearly happened with Slade and Isabel's recent attack._

_-So using Barry's design, the scientist, now operating out of the closed down S.T.A.R. Labs, were able to create a gate that would, essentially allow the Glades to become their own private district. They would still be apart of Starling but they would have their own opinion as well with a town representor that would meet with the Mayor with problems and how to solve it._

_-The districts new name is New Glades._

_-The gates would have a checkpoint, anyone entering and leaving the district would be checked for weapons or drugs, and anyone found in possession of them were apprehended and taken to SCPD and sent to Iron Heights. The people in the Glades became proud of where they lived and began doing everything they could to keep the place clean and free of crime and drugs. And they were especially thankful for Barry and his friends for everything they did for them._

_-Isabel and Slade make a return after hearing about Barry's incident, thinking now would be a great time to attack. They thought wrong. Their attack only fueled their anger. Roy, who had been elected to notify Barry's vigilante friend in New Jersey about him being struck by lightning, had just returned to Starling after a quick visit to Central to see Barry, he arrived at the arrow cave and was told about Slade and Isabel's attack._

_-Felicity gives Roy the cure that Oliver had handed to her. Arriving at the house, just in time to see Slade run his sword through Moira. Angered by this, Roy snuck up Slade, Oliver seeing him distracted the older man just long enough for Roy to inject him with the cure. And once he did, Oliver sprung towards the man._

_-Isabel showed up and fought both Roy and Thea._

_-Slade and Isabel were both knocked out and Oliver put in a call to Lyla telling her that she has two new criminals to pick up. Slade Wilson- Deathstroke and Isabel Rochev- Ravager. And that she should lock both of them up on Lian Yu. They were both too dangerous to keep around normal people._

_-After Moira's funeral, Thea and Roy decided to leave Starling and settled in Keystone._

_-Oliver decided to retire as the Arrow. He told both Diggle and Felicity. Though they both didn't like it, they knew Oliver wasn't going to change his mind anytime soon. Felicity returned to IT and Diggle got a job in ARGUS. As for Oliver, he focused on running QC, Tommy Merlyn Foundation, Rebecca Merlyn's Clinic and Verdant. It was allot of responsibility especially for one person, but he knew he had to do it because this was for Barry._

_-6 months later, in October, Barry wakes from his coma..._

_... And this is where the story will begin. Malcolm is truly dead, he is not coming back. No League of Assassins attacking, without Malcolm or Sara, they have no need to attack Starling or Oliver. The New Glades is essentially crime free, I say essentially because no place is 100% crime free but while New Glades and Starling City is no Central City, it isn't so bad now._

_Oliver will don the hood once more, only he'll be a vigilante in Central and not Starling. ARGUS is in charge of making sure nothing major happens in Starling and if something does happen, Lyla will call them in to help._

_Xx... Any other question concerning this new timeline, leave it in a comment and I'll get back to you as soon as possible... Xx_


	4. Flashback

_**Disclaimer:** _ _I don't own The Flash or Arrow._

_As the three left the school, they saw a figure standing in the distance. He was alone but that wasn't what caught their attention at first, no what drew their eyes to him was that they knew the figure. Tommy took a step towards in the direction wanting to go and check up on his friend when a hand grabbing his hand stopped him. "Barr?"_

_Barry glanced from Oliver to Tommy then back again. "If you don't mind... I would like to talk to him first." Despite being phrased to sound like a question, it wasn't. Barry hadn't even waited for a reply before he broke away from Tommy and Laurel and headed towards the blond. He furrowed his brows slightly in concern when Oliver didn't even turn to look at him, despite the noise he made to announce his arrival. "Hey."_

_Glancing over his shoulder, Oliver stared at the small boy before turning away again. "Barry... what are you doing here? I thought you'd still be mad at me? Or hate me for what I did to Laurel. I wouldn't blame you if you did. Hate me, that is. I've had a long time to think about what I did to her and the pain I caused, not just for her but her family as well."_

_Barry crossed his arms and sighed, "I don't hate you Oliver. I'm just... I don't know... disappointed, I guess." Oliver glanced at the younger boy, who shrugged his shoulders. "I love Dinah. I see her as an older sister. She's always been there for me since I first transferred here. Protected me from bullies and just looked out for me. I came to care for Tommy and you as well because of the way she talked about you and then I got to know you both."_

_Oliver looked away, not being able to watch the youngers disappointed face any longer._

_"When you asked Dinah out, I knew she was going to say 'yes'. Knew she was in love with you and I was scared for her. I didn't want her to have her heart broken by you." Barry's admittance caused Oliver to flinch as if he was struck. "I heard about your reputation. I didn't want to believe that you'd hurt Dinah, not intentionally. So, I told her my fears and doubts and she reassured me that you would never do that to her. Dinah believed in you and so I did too. I trusted you with someone I considered family."_

_"And then I hurt her." Oliver murmured._

_Barry swallowed, "Yeah. You hurt her and I... " He paused, cleared his throat and shook his head. "At that party... when I saw the both of you coming out of that room... I was so angry... I chased after the both of you and confronted you two about what had happened. Sara was mortified that she was caught and had left, but despite being mad at her, I was more pissed at you."_

_"I know. I deserved that anger." Oliver turned around and faced Barry, "I heard Laurel isn't on speaking terms with her mother and sister." Barry nodded his head, "I didn't know Sara had planned to sleep with me at the party. I thought it was something that just happened." The Queen scion swallowed. "I do stupid things like party, get drunk and sleep with random people. I'm a rich asshole. A billionaire playboy. I know what everyone says about me, and I can admit that I am all of those things, but... "_

_Barry frowned, staring at the older boy. "What?"_

_"I didn't plan to sleep with Sara. I wouldn't have done that to Laurel. I... I was stupid and drunk and Sara was throwing herself on me... and I... "_

_"Slept with her. Fell right into Sara's plan, unknowingly."_

_Oliver nodded his head, "When I found out Sara had planned that night. I confronted her about it and she admitted that she wanted to sleep with me. She just hadn't planned on anyone finding out about it. And when you saw the both of us leave that room and confronted us. She panicked and went home, knowing that it wouldn't be long until Laurel found out the truth. But she had hoped you wouldn't have told Laurel what happened."_

_Raising an eyebrow, Barry scoffed. "Sara thought I'd hide this from Dinah? Why would she ever think that?"_

_"To spare Laurel's feeling. She thought you wouldn't tell her in fear of breaking Laurel's heart."_

_"Dinah's heart would have broken even more had I hid this from her knowingly." Barry shook her head. "No, I wouldn't have hidden this from her even if it was to spare her feeling being hurt."_

_Oliver nodded his head, "I know you wouldn't have. I didn't expect you too."_

_Tucking his hands in his pockets, Barry stared at the older boy. "You and Dinah were dating for a long time. I actually thought the two of you were thinking of taking the next step. Moving in together. Dinah told me she mentioned it to you in passing and you agreed." Oliver winced and Barry frowned. "Is that what caused you to pull away from her? Did you not want to take that next step?"  
_

_"I was... " Oliver crossed his arms. "I guess... when Laurel was talking about moving in together, I... I panicked. I told her yes, but... I wasn't really ready for the sort of commitment, so I did whatever I could to have Laurel break up with me, but she was so focus on her school work and applying for university's, she didn't notice what was happening, at first."_

_"Until I mentioned if you two had broken up." Barry murmured causing Oliver to glance at him, "I asked Dinah if the two of you had broken up. I hadn't seen the two of you together for weeks, you_ _were hardly spending any time together and the only time I'd seen the two of you in the same room was if Tommy and I were with you. Dinah mentioned being busy with schoolwork and applying to university and doing scholarships that she hadn't noticed the two of you were drifting apart."_

_Oliver nodded his head. "She came to me and told me she hadn't meant to neglect me and that she'll try harder to make time for us. And I... I felt so guilty for everything that I did and didn't do, that I... tried, I really tried to push aside my panic and make things work with Laurel. It seemed to be working too. Until... everything came to a stop when Laurel mentioned this nice apartment she was planning on renting and wanted my opinion on."_

_"And after that... is that when the whole Sara incident happened?"_ _Oliver nodded his head. "You should have just spoken to Dinah. Trusted her to understand your feelings. If you had been honest with her, told her you weren't ready to take that step just yet, she never would have forced the issue. Of course, she'd be disappointed, but she would have been understanding."_

_"I know." Oliver sighed. "It's just something I do. I don't know why, but... whenever something goes good in my life... I always tend to sabotage it."_

_Barry furrowed his brows, before nodding his head. "Hurt it before it can hurt me?"_

_"Yeah, I guess." Oliver shrugged his shoulder. "And, Laurel looked so happy when she was talking about this apartment, how could I possibly have told her how I was feeling? I didn't want to hurt her... but I ended up doing it anyways and for the last several months, I've done nothing but hate myself for the pain I caused her. Hurting Laurel was the last thing I wanted to do." He heaved a sigh, desperately trying to blink the tears away. "In hindsight, I should have been honest with her and told her how I was feeling, but I am an impulsive idiot." Blue eyes connected with green and Barry could see the raw pain in the older teens eyes, and he knew Oliver meant every word he was saying; that if he could hit a redo button, he'd change everything that had happened._

_"I know you didn't mean to hurt Dinah... " Barry trailed off. "But you did anyways." Oliver flinched at the words, causing the brunet to wince at the bluntness of his statement, "Sorry... " He murmured. "I didn't mean for the words to come out as harsh sounding as they did." Oliver shrugged, "Why don't we just start over alright? I'm sure if you apologize to Dinah, tell her what you were thinking and feeling, she'll come around if she hasn't already." At the look Oliver was giving him, Barry cracked a smile, "Hey, we do notice things you know, especially when they're about you and how you aren't being a menace to society lately."_

_Oliver snorted and was about to make a comment to that when suddenly a man in a yellow suit appeared behind Barry and before he could even move or say something, the man had wrapped one arm around Barry's neck and the other one curled around his waist. Glowing red eyes glared angrily into a pair of blue ones._

_"He is mine! I will not let you have him!"_

_Laurel and Tommy, who were close enough to see their two friends talking but far enough away to give them privacy, watched the interaction between the two. "You think everything will be alright?"_

_Laurel shrugged her shoulder. "Hopefully. As mad as I am with Ollie for what he did... " She trailed off, lifting a shoulder up in derisive. "I should have known better. I knew how Oliver was before I agreed to date him. Barry tried to warn me against it. He was worried about Oliver breaking my heart even unintentionally. Seems, he had a good reason to be worried."_

_Tommy bit his bottom lip, glancing towards Laurel. "You don't sound mad at him anymore. Are you? Mad at Ollie?"_

_"I was... " Laurel nodded her head, "But now... how can I be mad at someone who seems so remorseful and guilty? No, I'm not mad anymore. I don't think Barry is either, which is why he wanted to be the one to talk to Oliver. Probably explain some things to him."_

_Tommy nodded his head, but before he could say anything, a movement near Barry caught his attention and he turned towards it. "What the... " He blinked._

_The both of them watched in shock as a man in yellow seemingly appeared behind Barry from thin air and wrapped his arm around the young teens neck and waist._

_"Barry!" Laurel cried out as she ran towards them. "Barr!" Tommy chased after her._ _The man said something to Oliver before turning and making to leave when Oliver leaped on the man's back and by the time Laurel and Tommy arrived, all of them were gone. "Barr! Ollie!" Laurel spun in a circle, before turning wide eyes at Tommy. "Where are they?"_

_Tommy could do nothing but bring his female friend into his arms, hugging her as she broke down._


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Flash or Arrow._

"... they were gone for a week, before he brought them back." Laurel glanced towards the bed, "He appeared outside a hospital in Starling and left both Oliver and Barry there. Oliver was the one who took Barry into the hospital and contacted the rest of us."

Cisco and Caitlin were speechless after hearing a story like that, what could they possibly have said. They'd never met anyone who had been kidnapped before. "What happened to them? He just left them there?"

Laurel nodded her head. "Oliver was checked over and was recommended to stay the night so they could monitor his vitals. He had a mild case of dehydration and malnutrition, but no further sign of abuse."

"And Barry?"

"Barry and Oliver never went into full detail about what that man had done to him, not even to the officers. But, with the test the doctors ran and the experience the detectives had, they all knew what Barry and Oliver weren't saying." Laurel lowered her head. "And Barry's reactions and mannerism changed... it wasn't long until Tommy and I realized what had happened to him." Clenching her hands into fist, Laurel gritted her teeth in anger. "The son of a bitch, whoever, _whatever,_ he is, hurt Barry so damn badly, it was a miracle he hadn't been killed."

"He was hurt that badly?" Cisco and Caitlin were horrified.

Laurel nodded her head, slowly, "Again, Oliver and Barry never explained in great detail what happened but we were able to piece together things they would let slip from time to time and my dad and Barry's dad would help fill in gaps that Tommy and I couldn't solve on our own." She stared at the bedridden boy, "No one could come up behind Barry and touch him or he'd panic. If Barry was distracted and wasn't paying any attention, we would have to announce our presence so we wouldn't startle him." Laurel bit on her bottom lip, "I remember this one time, We were all heading towards Big Belly Burger, and a stranger accidently bumped into Barry, and he was hysterical. It took the thee of us at least ten minutes to calm him down. To reassure him that he was safe and no one was going to hurt him."

Caitlin and Cisco shared a look, understanding what Laurel wasn't saying. "He was sexually abused?"

Laurel closed her eyes and leaned back against her seat, nodding her head. "It was so hard to watch Barry go threw something like that and not be able to really help him. Oliver was angry all the time unless he was around Barry. He blamed himself for not being able to stop Barry from being abused." She placed a hand on Barry's arm, "That man kept them separated. Oliver said he was kept in a locked room and chained against a wall. He never saw Barry, but he constantly heard him crying or screaming; begging for the pain to stop. The sounds of Barry's pain tortured Oliver, even months after they were brought back."

"Because he was there but couldn't help, is that why Oliver blamed himself for what happened to Barry?"

"I think so."

"Was the abuse only sexual?"

Laurel slowly shook her head. "No. When Barry was in the hospital, the doctors mentioned that he had been beaten thoroughly. By fist, feet and weapons. He had cuts and bruises littering his bodies, in various shades of healing. When he was brought in, he had multiple rib fractures on both sides, one dangerously close to puncturing a lung. He was suffering from dehydration, malnutrition and I believe the only reason that _monster_ brought Barry and Oliver back was because he got careless and Barry fell ill. He had gotten an infection that would have killed him had he not been taken to the hospital when he had been."

The two remained silent as they watched Laurel.

"While Barry was at home recovering, the doctors and the officers thought it would be beneficial to both Barry and us if the principal and the faculty knew what had happed to him; so they could be better prepared and would know what do or expect when he returned. Oliver, Tommy and I didn't agree at first. We didn't think it was fair for Barry to let everyone know what had happened to him, especially since it wasn't his choice. But, Jay had pulled us aside and explained that it would be better for Barry in the long run because the teachers would be aware of the situation and could stop anyone from triggering him unknowingly. We agreed, reluctantly, we knew as soon as the teachers found out what had happened, it would only be a matter of time before the students would start hearing about it... and they did... within weeks of Barry returning to school, the entire student body had heard about what had happened to him."

"Did the teachers tell them?"

"I don't they did intentionally, you know how it is. They go home, talk to their spouse or family members and they tell people they know and so on and so forth."

"How did the other students react?"

"Surprisingly, most of the other students were compassionate and kind. They were patient and understanding when approaching Barry and very cautious, often times they would make exaggerated hand movements and make loud noises before even walking in his direction just to lessen the possibility of startling him." Laurel whispered, tears filling her eyes as she remembered that event. "It was the first time I witnessed an entire student body come together like that."

Cisco smiled. "That was nice of them. My classmates wouldn't have done something like that."

"Oh, we had those students who didn't care about what had happened to Barry. Thought he deserved it or had even ask for it to happen to him. They made fun of him and bullied him. But they quickly learned why doing something like that, hadn't been such a good idea once Tommy and Oliver had gotten a hold of them. They hadn't been the only ones who had defended Barry. Many of the other students didn't think it was funny and even the jocks of the school hadn't tolerated the bullying. They were quick to put a stop to anyone who thought it was okay to pick on an abused victim."

Cisco and Caitlin looked impressed by that. "Didn't they get in trouble? For fighting?"

Laurel snickered, shaking her head. "My father and Barry's are detectives. Barry spent so many years hanging around the SCPD as a kid, that he was pretty much adopted by most of the officers, detectives and CSI's at the station. Let's just say, no one even batted an eyelash when they found out why several teenagers were brought to the station. Everyone who had help to defend Barry was actually thanked for what they did and released without even a warning."

"That's nice."

"And you and Oliver were able to patch up your friendship. Did it happen because of this event?"

"Yeah. We all wanted, needed, to make Barry feel somewhat normal and the best way to do that was to make him feel as normal as possible. We had him go back to tutoring Tommy; this time around, Oliver joined in, he wanted to make a change and because I didn't want to be left out, I tagged along as well. It wasn't easy at first, being so close to Oliver, but I knew Barry needed all of us. Eventually I was able to forgive him for what he had done, especially after I finally decided to hear him out." Laurel sighed, "I already knew Sara had planned to sleep with Oliver, but finding out he hadn't planned to cheat on me with my sister, help to at least lessen the sting of the betrayal."

"Were you able to forgive Sara or your mother?"

"I wanted to. But, every time I looked at them, I... " Laurel shrugged her shoulder, "It didn't matter anyways. As soon as she could, Sara packed and left without saying a word. And our mother left shortly after Sara did. They both left without any explanation. Broke my fathers heart more then mine."

"And you haven't spoken to either of them since they left?"

Laurel shook her head, "No. Like I said, they didn't say where they were going, just packed up and left. Sara had her number changed, so we couldn't even call her. Not like it mattered much, they knew where we were and what our numbers are... they were the ones who never came back, or tried to contact us."

"Wow, that really sucks." Cisco murmured.

"Just realized how dysfunctional my family really is." Laurel commented off hand.

Sharing a look, Cisco and Caitlin nodded and turned back towards Laurel, "I guess most families are. Cisco and I would know that better then most. But at least you still have your dad."

Laurel shrugged, "I guess. Some days are better then most." She replied, "We do have our moments but if it wasn't for Barry, we'd be worse off."

"He holds you and your dad together?"

"He is the voice of reason. He tells us when we are being ridiculous and when we need to take a step and breath. He isn't afraid to put us in our place if he has to." Laurel smiled. "And my father and I need that. We're often combatant and stubborn. And we always have to be right."

"Sounds like an interesting guy." Cisco grinned. "I can't wait to get to know him."

Laurel nodded her head. "Best guy that I know." She murmured. "After high school, we decided to go to the same university, together, even Oliver, which had surprised just about everyone that has ever known him. In the last year before graduation, and with Barry's tutoring, he'd been able to raise his grades from _failing fantastically_ to _passing with flying colors._ " She shook her head with a grin, "We don't know how Oliver had managed to do it, but we were impressed and really proud of all the hard work he put in."

"I'll say." Cisco inclined his head, "Not everyone would be able to make that kind of leap. I'm impressed as well."

"Oliver gave the credit to Barry, but Barry denied it, said Oliver was the one who did all the work, all he did was tutor him."

"So you four ended up going to university together?"

"Tommy, Oliver and I did, yes." Shooting a fond look towards the bed, Laurel grinned, "Barry on the other hand, decided to take online classes. He said it would be better for him and he would be able to work at his own pace." Cisco and Caitlin looked confused at that, "Remember, Barry was allot younger then Tommy, Oliver and I when we all graduated from high school. He was almost 13." He shot the two S.T.A.R. Labs employees a derisive look. "And when I mentioned he wanted to work at his own pace, I didn't mean he wanted to take his time, no, he wanted to take all the course he wanted without the waiting."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's just say, by the time Tommy, Oliver and I were finished with our first year of University, Barry had already obtained his double major in forensic chemistry and was working on turning that into a PH'D along with doing several other science courses, he was also taking business classes and engineering ones."

"Wow. He is an overachiever." Cisco whistled, "Did he accomplish everything he wanted to do?"

Laurel nodded her head. "By the time he was 16, he had PH'D's in forensic chemistry, and a trio of engineering ones. He had double majored in both business and criminology and law. He probably has a few more, but those were the only ones I could remember him talking about."

"When you said he was a genius, you weren't kidding." Cisco's jaw dropped, "He could literally get a job anywhere with degrees like that. And what about you, Tommy and Oliver? What were you guys taking up."

"I was majoring in Law while both Oliver and Tommy were taking business classes." Laurel leaned back in her seat, she didn't know why she was telling basically her entire life story to these two, but for some reason, she had a feeling these two would be a permanent fixture in her life even after Barry wakes up. And talking really helped, it was better then just sitting in the room in silence. The next memory was the hardest one yet, second only to the day Barry had been abused.

"Robert Queen, Oliver's father, decided he wanted to take us on a trip with him. He was heading to China on the Queen's Gambit and wanted to take us with him as a treat for everything we've accomplished in the last three years. We agreed. The night before we were suppose to leave, Tommy ends up calling all of us, pissed off and upset because apparently at the last minute, his father, Malcolm, decided to give him a job at their company, knowing about the upcoming trip."

"That sucks." Cisco winced. "He purposely did that so his son wouldn't be able to go on that trip?"

Laurel nodded her head. Knowing what she did now, it all made sense. She had always wondered why Malcolm did that, and it also explained how both her and Barry were called to shadow two people who were highly sought out in their chosen career fields. "Yeah. He did. But Tommy wasn't the only who wouldn't be going on that trip. The day of, when I was about to leave my apartment to head to the pier, I got a call from one of the best DA's in Starling and was offered the opportunity to shadow him. It was a once in a lifetime chance. I tried to ask for a later date, but it was either then or never." She glanced towards the bed, "Barry got a call from the SCPD CSI director himself. He offered Barry an intern position, working alongside him, for the entire summer, with pay."

"Wow, so all three of you were stopped from taking that trip."

Laurel nodded her head. They were purposely held back from boarding the Queen's Gambit. She had a feeling Malcolm had pulled several strings in order to ensure both her and Barry wouldn't have gotten on the Gambit. She had to wonder why he allowed Oliver to get on the Gambit. They knew now, his target had been Robert, so why try to kill Oliver as well, knowing he was Tommy's bestfriend. She shook her head. She'd never be able to understand, so it was better to stop thinking about that memory.

"Wait... is that?" Cisco's eyes widened.

"When the Queen's Gambit sank and Oliver was stranded on that Island?" Caitlin finished.

Laurel nodded her head. "Yeah. Everyone who found out Tommy, Barry and I were suppose to have gone with Oliver and Robert, always makes references to _Final Destination_ or would make comments about how lucky we were that we hadn't gone with them. That we were saved." She crossed her arms. "They didn't even care about the pain we were going through. Some people were really callous and obnoxious and often times found themselves on the wrong side of Barry's temper."

"Barry's temper?"

"He might be kindhearted, forgiving and an all around nice person, but Barry does have a temper once it's unleashed. He went nuclear on several paparazzi's who were making snide remarks about the Queens. It was not the first time, but it was certainly the last time something like that had happened. Barry's temper became somewhat legendary after that and no one wanted to push him that far again."

"I'll bet."

"His anger just confirmed something I'd known was there." At the looks she was getting, she smiled. "I had a feeling Barry might have fallen in love with Oliver. It was the little things he did when he was around Oliver. Nothing really noticeable, not unless you knew what to look for. And Oliver... " Laurel shook her head with an amused smile, "I know what he looks like when he is starting to fall in love, and the way he looked at Barry during the days leading up to the Gambits sinking, he loved Barry, or was in the early stages of it at least."

"And you were okay with that?"

"The look he would give Barry when he thought no one was looking... " Laurel started. "It went deeper then any look he had ever given anyone else, including me. He told me once, when we were starting to rebuild our friendship, that he loved me more then he did anyone else he had ever dated. He could have been with me for the rest of his life and would have been happy. But there was always something in him. When he got close to people, there was always a need in him. A need to flee, to runaway. And he did. He sabotages all of his relationships because of this need."

Cisco and Caitlin stared at Laurel, curious.

"The look he gave Barry... " She paused, a faraway look in her eyes, "It was a bittersweet realization loving Oliver, who had never, _not once,_ looked at me the way he looked at Barry." Laurel paused. "He might have loved me more then he loved anyone else that he dated, but he loved Barry better then he loved the rest of us. Oliver would never be able to live with himself if he ever hurt Barry the way he did the rest of us."

"Are they dating?"

Laurel snorted, "Not yet. I don't know what they are waiting for. Heck, I'm pretty sure Thea is planning their wedding."

There was a brief moment of silence while all eyes stared at the young man laid out on the bed.

A tap on the door drew everyone's attention. "Jay!" Laurel greeted, standing, "Are you on your lunch break?"

Nodding his head, Jay walked towards the bed, "How is everyone today? And how is Barry doing?"

"He is doing much better. His vitals are looking good, they are improving more and more everyday. We are quite confident that Barry will wake up any moment now." Caitlin replied with a nod of her head. "And I'm doing well today, thank you for asking, and yourself?"

Jay smiled at the young lady, "I'm fine, thanks." He glanced towards Laurel and Cisco.

"I'm fine as well. Thanks for asking."

"And I'm good. Would be even better if Barry would wake up already. You'd think _sleeping beauty_ already had enough rest. His already young and beautiful, just how much more rest could he possibly need?" Laurel teased.

Jay laughed. "Apparently he likes being mistaken for a 12 year old." He joked back.

_'Harrison Wells'_ stared at the group from his place in the Cortex, well more specifically, the person on the bed, as he recalled the moment he'd taken Barry Allen from Starling, he had an unexpected hitchhiker, but _Oliver Queen_ before he became the Green Arrow was not a problem just an annoyance.

It had taken him a long time to find Barry's location. And once he did, he immediately went in search of him. He only wanted to see the boy, that was it. You could only imagine his surprise upon finding him with Oliver Queen when in the future they were barely even friends. Upset by this development, he had taken the boy, a bad judgement call on his part, he admits but he needed to get Barry away from Oliver or the future as he knows it will cease to exist. What he hadn't expected was the future Arrow jumping on his back as he sped away.

He had tossed Oliver into a room and chained him to the wall before locking the door. He had taken Barry and strapped him to a bed while trying to decide what he would do with him. Having his obsession so close, in touching distance for the first time in fifteen years... he couldn't help but indulge a bit. His cries and screams were music to his ears. After holding him prisoner for a week, he'd gotten careless, hadn't made sure Barry's wounds were properly cared for and when he started getting feverish, he knew Barry needed medical help. So, he took both him and Oliver back to Starling City. Although he was reluctant, he couldn't afford to mess with the timeline more then he already had and if Barry died before he became The Flash, he would never be able to return home. Without Barry Allen, there would be no speed force and no speed force meant no speedsters and no speedsters meant he'd be trap here... forever... and that was not acceptable.

Just thinking about that week he had Barry, it sent a shiver down Eobard's spine, a smile curled his lips at the memory. He'd tortured the future Flash in every way he could think of. And it was those memories that kept him going for the last 10 years after returning him to Starling. After the particle accelerator exploded and he got custody over Barry... well, the things he did with the boy, no one needed to know."

"Doctor Wells!"

Blinking, Eobard yanked himself out of his thoughts and turned his attention towards the speaker, "Oh, detective Allen. I thought you were visiting your son?"

"I did, but lunch is only so long. I have to get back to work." Jay stared at the man who had opened up his lab in order to help Barry recover. He didn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, but if he could help his son, then that was the only thing that mattered, for now. "Just wanted to make sure you were alright, You looked lost in thought."

Wells nodded his head. "Everything is fine. Just thinking." Placing his hands on his lap, he smiled. "Your son is improving greatly. We have faith that he'll wake up any moment now."

Jay slowly nodded his head, eyes narrowed and a frown threatened to pull at his lips. "I'll see you tomorrow then." He hated leaving his son alone with this man he didn't trust but as long as Laurel, Caitlin and Cisco were here, he knew Barry would be safe.

Wells inclined his head, watching as the detective walked away before turning to face the room the future Flash was in. A small smile curled Eobard's lips, _'You'll be up soon Barry, and when you are, the real fun will begin.'_

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_**End Chapter** _

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Flash or Arrow. If I did, well, Laurel wouldn't have died, Iris would have and we wouldn't have to deal with all the soap opera drama that has became part of the show in recent years._

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**_Three Days Later_ **

_S.T.A.R Labs Cortex_

Voices.

That was the first thing he became aware of. And they were talking above him.... About him.

"What are you doing?" A female questioned. It didn't sound familiar. Then again he wasn't acquainted with allot of females and the only ones he was really close to was Dinah, Thea, Moira, Cindy and Felicity. 

"He likes this song! I think it might be his favorite song!" A male replied. Again, this voice didn't sound like anyone he knew. Inwardly frowning, he tried to recall the last thing he did. And remembered he was in Central City which is why the voices above him didn't sound like anyone he knew. Which brought up a different question... Where was he? And what happened? 

_Favorite song?_ Focusing on the music playing through the speaker, _Lady Gaga's Poker Face,_ Barry realized that the guy was right. Sort of _. It's not my favorite, but I do like it. How did this person who he has never met before possibly know that?_ It seemed the female was skeptical as well since she voiced her opinion on the matter.

"And how could you possibly have known that?"

"I checked his Facebook page. I mean he can hear everything right?

"Auditory functions are the last thing to degenerate."

Opening his eyes, he saw two blurred figures standing above him but the bright lights of the room caused him to close them immediately after. He couldn't move, not even a finger. _What the heck was going on? Where was he? Who were they? And where was Oliver and Dinah? Or his dad?_

And all of a sudden as if he was shocked, he bolted upright in the bed in a panic. Thoroughly freaking the other male out as he practically fell against the table behind him with a shout before reaching for his phone and calling someone to come down to the Cortex. The female on the other hand had no reaction and was already at his bed poking and prodding at him, words escaped him as he tried to get away from these people.

"Where am I?" His questioned went unanswered.

"... over 110... pulse 120... pupils equally reactive to light... "

Fighting against the hands trying to hold him to the bed, Barry finally managed to get out of the bed only to feel a hand on his arm. "Hey, hey, relax. Everything is okay man. You're at S.T.A.R Labs." Hearing that at least calmed him down a bit, though he was confused for the reason he was here in the first place.

"S.T.A.R Labs... Who... Who are you?" Barry questioned as he allowed the female to take him temperature as he focused on the other male.

"I'm Cisco Ramon, She's Caitlin... Doctor Snow." The Latino looking boy, Cisco, seemed unsure of how to introduce his friend, who ignored his fumbling and continued moving around him, poking and prodding.

Barry just looked between the two of them, still confused for the reason he was in S.T.A.R Labs and why these two people, who he had never seen before, were suddenly too close to him and touching him. He blinked and turned towards Caitlin when she thrust a tube, he vaguely recognized, at him. "I need you to urinate in this!" He couldn't have been more shocked by that statement if he tried. _Seriously. Well, she is a doctor._

"Not this second." Cisco called out snatching the cup from his friends hand.

"What... What is happening? What is going on?"

"You were struck by lightning, dude."

Barry rose an eyebrow in disbelief, "Wh... " He turned and froze when he saw himself in one of the monitors. Even with all Oliver's training, he was never able to develop this type of abs. He had them, of course, but they were never as defined as they were now. "Lightning gave me abs?"

Taking that as her cue, Caitlin approached him and started touching him, "Your muscles should be atrophied, but instead they're in a chronic and unexplained state of cellular regeneration."

Cisco grabbed his arms from behind, moving him towards the bed and guiding him down. "Come here... Have a seat." Doing as told, Barry sat and turned his attention towards the two other people in the room, well more so on Cisco seeing as he was the one talking, "You were in a coma!"

"For how long?" Barry questioned, shock. _Is that why none of his friends were here at the moment? Oliver and Dinah would never have left his side if it was a short coma. Neither would his father. They'd all camp out in the room despite what anyone told them._

"Nine months." A voice from behind them called out causing all of them to turn around. Barry stared at the man in shock. "Welcome back, Mister Allen. We have a lot to discuss." Barry couldn't believe he was sitting in front of _Harrison Wells._ This man had been his idol for so long, he couldn't believe he was meeting him in person. "But first... " The man held out a set of S.T.A.R Labs sweats. "You might feel more comfortable in these."

Accepting the change of clothes and making sure everyone wasn't looking, he quickly changed into the sweats and followed the Doctor out of the room.

"I can't believe I'm here." Barry called out as he walked beside the wheelchair bound man, "I've always wanted to meet you face-to-face."

"Yeah?" Wells smiled at that, "Well, you certainly went to great lengths to do it." The man teased lightly, "S.T.A.R Labs has not been operational since FEMA categorized us as a class 4 hazardous location. 17 people were killed that night, many more were injured, myself amongst them."

"Jeez, what happened?" Barry exclaimed as he stared at the destruction of, what must have been, at one point, the Particle Accelerator.

"Nine months ago, the Particle Accelerator went online exactly as planned." Wells murmured, "For forty-five minutes, I'd achieve my life's dream and then there was an anomaly. The electron volts became unmeasurable, the ring under us popped, energy from the detonation was thrown into the sky... and that in turn seeded a storm cloud... "

"That created the lightning bolt that struck me." Barry finished having caught on to what he was being told.

Wells nodded his head, "That's right." Barry didn't even know what to say to that. What could he possibly say after hearing something like that. Fortunately he didn't have to as Wells continue talking, "I was recovering myself when I heard about you." Barry stared at him briefly before turning away to stare at the destruction below once more, "The hospital was undergoing unexplainable power outage every-time you were going into cardiac arrest, which was actually a misdiagnosis, because you see, you weren't flat-lining, Barry, your heartbeat was moving too fast for the EKG to register it."

Turning, Wells motioned for Barry to follow him as he led the way back towards the Cortex.

"Now, I'm not the most popular person in town these days, but your father, Detective Allen and your two bestfriends, Oliver and Laurel. gave me permission to bring you here where we were able to stabilize you."

"Oliver and Dinah?" Barry questioned, "And my father?"

Wells stared at Barry for a while before nodding his head, "Oliver and your father, yes. Who is Dinah?"

"Sorry, Laurel." Barry shook his head. "I'm the only one who calls her Dinah, she doesn't really like that name but she makes an exception for me. I've been calling her that since I first met her, as a kid."

"I see. But, yes, they've come to see you quite often. Miss Lance and Detective Allen moved to Central not too long after you were moved to S.T.A.R Labs and your other friends have made frequent visits as well. Your friend Mister Queen has donated a large sums of money for your recovery even though I was willing to do it for free."

"Speaking of your friend, Laurel, she does like to talk doesn't she." Caitlin commented as she walked passed them. "We've learned a lot about you through her."

"And she's hot!" Cisco added, popping up behind Barry. "By the way, I called Laurel while you and Doctor Wells were talking so they should be here soon."

Barry nodded his head and shot a look towards the long haired male, "They?"

"Yeah. Oliver will be coming with her. Tried calling your dad, but he wasn't answering, so he must be out in the field or just too busy to take calls right now." Cisco nodded his head, taking a seat on the table, "You woke up just in time it seemed. Oliver makes the back and forth trip, so he'll be here for five days, leave and be back in a week or two for another five days."

Barry made a noise of understanding. He knew Oliver was busy with running QC in the daytime and skulking the city during nightfall, but, he was just glad that he made the time to come see him five days out of seven, which for Oliver, was more then he would do for anyone else except for Thea and Laurel.

He heard the footsteps first. Pounding and echoing off the walls. Turning his head towards the door, he watched as they slid open and his two bestfriends entered the room. "Barry!" The call of his name was his only warning before he found himself sandwiched between two bodies, one of them shaking against him, tears burning through the shirt he wore and he frowned. He hated when any of his friends were sad and knowing he had reduced such a strong woman like Laurel to tears upset him.

"Dinah." He whispered as the arms around him loosened and pulled away. "Ollie." He smiled at them both.

"I can't believe it. You're finally awake." Laurel wiped at her eyes. "I was so worried about you."

"I'm sorry." He glanced between both of them. "It wasn't my intention to get struck by lightning."

Oliver snorted, "I don't think anyone would want to, intentionally, get struck by lightning. Heard it's painful."

Barry smiled, "I don't know. I can't remember much. Not even the pain."

"Good!" Laurel burst out. "I wouldn't want you to remember being struck by lightning, being flung onto a metal shelf and then drenched in chemicals, if it was painful."

Barry rose an eyebrow. "I was what now.... ?!"

"We'll tell you about it later." Oliver called out, waving his hand and eying his friend critically. "Should you even be up right now? You just woke up from a 9 month coma." He looked worried and about ready to haul Barry back on to the bed.

"I feel fine." Barry nodded his head. "They don't seem all that worried."

Oliver and Laurel glanced towards Caitlin who nodded her head. "Everything looks good. It was like he'd never been in a coma at all." She looked confused, worried and curious.

"Are you sure?" Oliver questioned, when Caitlin reassured him, he glanced towards Barry, "How about we go out? Get something to eat?" Barry agreed wholeheartedly. He wanted to leave the Labs. And he was starting to get a bit hungry.

"I don't think that such a good idea, Mister Queen. We still need to run more test on Mister Allen. We aren't sure what kind of effect that lightning will have on him." _Wells_ tried to object, not wanting Barry to leave his sight, especially not in the company of Oliver Queen.

"We'll bring him right back here, Doctor Wells, and beside Caitlin and Cisco can come with us. She's a Doctor. If some thing does happen, she'll be right there to help." Laurel replied. She didn't know what it was, but there was just something about the scientist that she didn't quite trust, and she really didn't like the looks she would sometimes catch the older man giving her friend. It unnerved her and made her skin crawl which was why most days, she waited until after everyone left the Labs for the day before leaving herself.

_Wells_ sighed, "I suppose if Dr. Snow and Mister Ramon accompany you, it should be fine. But please come back here immediately if something is wrong." The group nodded their heads and left the room. Oliver and Laurel wrapping their arms over and around Barry while Cisco and Caitlin fell into step behind the trio. As they left the room, no one noticed the look on _Harrison Wells_ face as he stared at the back of Barry Allen. _'Finally. You'll be mine soon enough... Barry Allen.'_

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_**End Chapter** _

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	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I don't own The Flash or Arrow. If I did, well, Laurel wouldn't have died, Iris would have and we wouldn't have to deal with all the soap opera drama that has became part of the show in recent years.

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After eating, they left the diner, Barry trailing behind the others, staring at the ground, lost in thought. Something weird was going on. There was a moment when they were eating, he happened to look up and watched as one of the servers drop a glass cup, not that _that_ was the weird part; the thing that freaked him out, was it looked as if time had frozen around him. The glass cup suspended in midair, the noise were gone; there was only silence. It was only for a few seconds before time was moving again and the previously floating cup finally hit the floor, shattering upon impact.

A hand on his shoulder broke him out of his thoughts and he turned towards the person. "Ollie... " He shook his head, plastering a smile on his face, "Sorry. Lost in thought. Did you need something?"

Oliver narrowed his eyes, "Are you alright? Do we need to take you back to the labs?"

Barry shook his head. "No. I'm fine. I want to see my dad before we go back to S.T.A.R labs."

Oliver frowned, "If you are sure." He murmured. "Come on."

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The walk towards CCPD didn't take long. As they entered the station, the group looked around trying to find Jay, but it was Barry who found him first. He was across the bullpen talking to two detectives he remembered meeting on his first day here. Detective West and Thawne if he recalled correctly.

"Bad!"

Every head turned towards them, but it was only one that caused a wide smile to blossomed across Barry's face as he made his way across the room, his father meeting him halfway, wrapping him up in strong arms. "Barry." His voice was muffled, "You're awake."

Barry nodded his head against his father's shoulder, "Yeah. I am." Pulling away, he beamed brightly.

"When did you wake up? Should you even be out of bed yet?"

"I feel fine, dad, beside I have both Caitlin and Cisco with me just in case something were to happen. Not to mention Ollie and Dinah, you know those two won't let anything happen to me." Jay looked over Barry's shoulder and saw the four walking towards them at a more sedated pace. "We were going to head back to the labs after I saw you."

"Hey, kid, I'm glad to see you awake. That was some nap you took."

Glancing towards the detective who made that comment, Barry smiled. "Detective West." He greeted. Turning his head he nodded towards Eddie. "Eddie."

"Barry, welcome back." Eddie greeted with a smile.

"Thank-you."

An officer ran over, "Detectives we've got a 5-50 in progress at Gold City Bank. Two dead. And storm is really picking up on the South side, so grab your rain gear."

"Looks like I have to go. Sorry, Barr."

"It's fine, dad. I'll see you later."

Jay nodded his head and turned towards Oliver, "Take care of my boy, Oliver."

"Always, Detective."

With one last hug, Jay ran out of the station with both Joe and Eddie.

"Are the three of them partners or am I missing something?"

"Detective Thawne is your fathers partner." Laurel answered. "Detective West was assigned to them because his partner Detective Chyre is in counseling. Nine months ago, he was shot and almost died, but luck was on his side and he survived what should have been a fatal gunshot wound to his neck. So, every once in a while he has to go see a psychiatrist so Jay and Detective Thawne lets Detective West go with them on those days. "

"So Detective West is working with Detective Thawne and my dad until his partner comes back to work?" Laurel nodded her head. "How do you know all that?" Barry rose an eyebrow, curious and upon seeing how much his friend froze at the question, he became even more-so.

"I'm the D.A. who works closely with the CCPD. There isn't much I don't know about, that happens here."

Suspicion set in. Laurel could be telling the truth, but something tells Barry, that isn't the entire truth but he decided to let it go for now. He'll let Laurel keep her secret for a bit longer before trying to find out she was trying to hide.

"Lets get you back to S.T.A.R labs."

Barry nodded his head and allowed Laurel, Cisco and Caitlin to walk out ahead of him before glancing at Oliver, "So I've been meaning to ask you... " Oliver stared at him, "How are you? I know it couldn't have been easy dealing with your day job, your night job and then coming 600 miles to Central to visit me."

"It was fine, Barr. And if I could, I would have moved to Central to be closer to you."

Barry snorted, "I wouldn't doubt it, but Starling needed you more then I did. I wasn't going anywhere."

Oliver shook his head. "Come on." He urged.

About to follow his friend, he stopped. Across the room, he watched as one of the officers had trouble subduing the criminal he had in his hold. Time slowed to a stop around him once more as he watched the criminal reach for the officers gun. And in a moment that happened too fast for him to comprehend, he was across the room, hitting the man in the face, knocking the fight out of him and back in his original position within seconds as time picked up once more.

He almost believed it was a day dream only his hand was stinging. Looking down, his eyes widened when he saw it vibrating. Grasping his hand with his other one, he made his way towards the back door drawing Oliver's attention and making him follow.

"Barr, what's wrong?"

"Ollie, I don't think I'm alright." Barry's strangled words caught Oliver's attention and he walked closer just as Barry spun around and lifted his hand. The hand was moving so quickly it was a blur of movement. "Something is really not okay... " He raised wide eyes towards his friend. "What is happening to me?"

Before Oliver could open his mouth to reassure Barry, he promptly closed it when he realized Barry had moved from being in front of him to across the lot and nearly having his face bashed into the brick building across from them. "Barry!" He ran towards the younger male, "What the hell... "

"Ollie." Before Oliver could even reach out to touch him, Barry vanished, and the sound of glass shattering had his head whipping around, just in time to see the brunet sliding off the back of the police car, the windows shattered. The younger male was stumbling away from the car in confusion. "I think we need to get back to S.T.A.R labs. Something is definitely not right."

Oliver could do nothing but nod his head, "I'll say. Come on."

Barry nodded his head and took a step, only to find himself speeding down the alley, only coming to a stop when he tumbled into the back of a van, luckily the doors were open. "I don't know whether that was cool or not."

"Barr!" Oliver ran towards the van. "Sorry about this." He told the driver, who looked freaked out, before reaching in and grabbing his friends arm and pulling him out, "Let's go." This time, Oliver made sure to wrap his arms over Barry to stop him from moving too fast, hopefully. "Where the heck are we... ?"

Barry shrugged, "Did you really chase after me? How'd you even know where I was?"

"I followed the trail you left." Was the only response Oliver gave because he didn't have anything else to say. "Come on, we should find our way back to the police station or else Laurel will send out a search party looking for you."

Barry smiled, "She wouldn't. She knows you are with me and that you'll make sure nothing happens." Finally finding the right street, the two made their way back to CCPD... and was met with the frantic pacing of one Laurel Lance. She did look worried. "Dinah!"

Hearing that name, Laurel whipped around and stared in confusion at seeing Barry and Oliver standing across the street.

"Barry!" After making sure no cars was coming, she ran across the street with Cisco and Caitlin following behind. "There you two are. What happened? We thought you two were behind us and when you weren't we went back inside but couldn't find you... How the heck did you guys get over here? And where did you come from?"

"We have a problem!" Oliver called out. "And we need to get back to the labs right away. Something tells me, you won't believe us unless you see it for yourself." Sharing a confused look, the trio turned towards the previously missing duo with a curious look, but unlike Laurel, Cisco and Caitlin had a feeling they knew what this was going to be about.


End file.
